


Awoken and Guardian

by NetRaptor



Series: Destiny and Destiny 2 stories [19]
Category: Destiny (Video Games)
Genre: Enemies to Lovers, Eventual Romance, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Past Lives, Politics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-03
Updated: 2019-01-23
Packaged: 2019-10-03 13:21:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 56,845
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17284820
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NetRaptor/pseuds/NetRaptor
Summary: Lethia is a Reefborn Awoken fleeing Oryx's Taken. Ferral is a Guardian Hunter who discovered too much about his own past. Bound for Earth to try to save Ferral's ghost, they crash on Mars, and find that the prejudice between them is more deadly than any hostile alien.





	1. Taken

"Would you ever date a Guardian?"

Lethia looked up from mixing a complex tea for a customer in the cafe where she worked. Her coworker, a woman named Sira, smirked at her from the sandwich counter.

"Are you trying to make me vomit?" Lethia replied. "Guardians don't even have souls. Give me one of the Dasa boys any day."

"Or Prince Uldren," Sira added. Both of them sighed wistfully.

They were of the Awoken race - humans with blue skin, glowing eyes, and patterns of Light racing beneath their skin. They lived in Reefedge City: a fair-sized metropolis on the inside of the Reef, a great wedge of interconnected rocks and wrecked ships in the asteroid belt.

Lethia handed the customer their tea, readying her smile for the next person in line. Lethia wore her indigo hair in the latest Awoken style - long on top, shaved on the sides - and selected clothes that set off her unusual blue-green eyes.

The man in line was a tall, broad-shouldered Awoken. He wore a black cloak with a hood, and his pale yellow eyes glowed unsettlingly from beneath.

"What can I get you?" Lethia asked, showing her prettiest smile.

"A plain black leaf, please," he replied.

As Lethia poured a cup from a nearby kettle, she said, "Are you a Techeun?"

"Light, no," the man said, sounding startled. "What makes you think that?"

"The cloak," Lethia replied. "Techeuns are the only ones who dress like that, and we don't see them often."

"Ah. Well." The man pushed back his hood. He had pale blue skin and coal-black hair with white streaks in it. But what interested Lethia the most was the V-shaped birthmark on his forehead.

"Are you a Dasa?" she asked.

The man flinched. "Um, no, I'm not." He slid three glimmer bits across the counter, and she handed him his tea.

As he turned away, his cloak shifted, and Lethia glimpsed the sidearm holstered at his hip. The holster was worked with the insignia of a coiled snake.

She sucked in her breath through her teeth. "Sira!" she whispered. "That man's a Guardian!"

"He is?" Sira craned her neck to peer after the stranger as he left the cafe. "I've never seen one! I didn't know the undead drank tea!"

Lethia looked at the glimmer he had handed her, then stuck it under the faucet to rinse it off. "I can't believe I spoke to one. What did he think he was doing, mixing with Awoken like he was the same as us?"

"He was an Awoken, too," Sira said. "Or he was before he died."

The two made disgusted faces at each other.

They endlessly discussed the Guardian as the morning gave way to afternoon. The radio in the back room ran news reports about the approach of the Hive Dreadnaught, and their manager listened with a grave expression. But Lethia and Sira paid no attention. Meeting their first Guardian was far more fascinating than a distant alien threat.

"So, would you date him?" Sira said.

"No way!" Lethia retorted. "He acted Awoken, but I'll bet if you scratched deeper than the surface, there'd be no personality. Guardians are puppeted by those ghost robots to be killing machines."

"With a taste for tea," Sira added, and both of them giggled.

Their manager emerged from the back room, the Light under her skin swirling in alarm. "Girls, close the cafe. Go home and bar your doors."

"Why? What's wrong?" Lethia asked.

"The Dreadnaught just destroyed our fleet," said the manager. "And it sent out a pulse of energy that-"

A sucking, tearing sound interrupted her. Half the cafe wall peeled open in a black portal with empty void inside. Unlucky patrons nearby fell into it, screaming.

A moment later, they stepped out again, still screaming. But they had returned as the Taken. Their human bodies were consumed with burning blackness that seared white where their feet touched the ground. Their faces were obscured by a blob of white. They moved in a staggering, wobbling way, reaching out to grab other people, their very touch burning away clothes and flesh.

Panic erupted in the cafe. Lethia and Sira escaped out the back door. More portals opened in the walls and ground, tugging at them, trying to Take them. Screams erupted all over the city as people were consumed by the hundreds. They returned as the Taken, swarming the streets and buildings, killing everything in their paths.

Lethia fled with the rest, running down the city streets, trying to avoid the portals as they opened underfoot and in every wall. She screamed as a black Taken emerged a foot away, his body squirming in agony as the darkness burned and burned and burned. The monster reached for her. Lethia twisted aside. The grasping claws grabbed Sira, instead, who screamed horribly as she died. Lethia tried to pull her friend away from the monster, but it was already too late.

In less than ten minutes, the street was empty of everything except burning Taken that wavered about as if swimming through reality.

Lethia clawed her way up a steep hillside and crouched behind a rock, shaking so hard she could barely keep her feet. Portals kept opening and closing like huge jaws. The city echoed with the screams of the living and the damned. It was only a matter of time before a portal found her.

Lethia had never seen Darkness like this before - the Techeuns spoke of it, and she'd seen pictures of blights. But for it to occur like this, everywhere, devouring what had once been a sanctuary protected by the Queen - it was the apocalypse. Lethia could only hope to survive for one minute at a time, because the next might be her last.

"Hello!" said an improbably cheery voice.

She spun around with a gasp. Floating behind her was a little robot, shaped like a star with a single blue eye in the center.

A ghost, Lethia realized. One of the spawn of the Traveler, the great machine floating above Earth that had created the Guardians.

"What do you want?" she said shakily.

"I, uh, well ..." The ghost gazed at her, then down the hill at the portals Taking the entire Awoken race. "Is this a bad time?"

"Yes!" she shrieked in a whisper. "They're Taking us! It'll Take me, too! Go away before they quench your light!"

The rock beside her opened with a tearing sound, a black portal gaping wide. Lethia scrambled backward with a scream. The portal sucked at her, tilting her center of gravity, turning all directions into down with itself at the bottom. She struggled, clawing at the ground, gasping, sobbing, trying not to slip down and down into the hungry void.

The ghost shot her with Light.

Light flashed behind her eyelids and under her skin, making the native patterns swirl and blaze. She glimpsed stars and heat, green forests and sparkling water. Alien strength poured into her.

The gravity well vanished. Lethia collapsed to the ground, now blessedly flat. The portal sucked itself closed. She lay there, panting and whimpering.

The ghost flew down to her. "Come on, I'll guide you out of here."

She was too dazed to argue, or even understand what happened. She struggled to her feet and staggered after the ghost. She may not trust the Traveler, but it wouldn't actively destroy her. Not like the Darkness.

* * *

The ghost led her out of the city and into the surrounding mountains. The number of portals diminished as the city fell behind. It seemed that the Taken King was targeting the population centers and ignoring the scattered dwellings among the hills.

As they traveled, Lethia's initial panic subsided. But she kept watch as they walked, expecting portals or Taken to appear around every bend. She could not have made it so far if not for the alien power pulsing through her. It felt like adrenaline, yet at the same time, something other.

As they followed a narrow trail up a tree-clad mountainside, Lethia asked, "Why are you helping me?"

The ghost glanced at her, then looked away without answering.

"You're of the Light," Lethia said. "You wouldn't be leading me to harm."

"You didn't even notice, did you?" the ghost said.

"Notice what?" Lethia glanced all around for enemies.

The ghost made a sound like a sigh. "This isn't the time. Let's find shelter, first."

The sun began to descend as the Reef revolved. Lethia watched the oncoming shadows. Terror prickled along her spine. Taken ... in the night ... when she wouldn't be able to see them.

The ghost gave her a concerned look. "What's wrong?"

She licked her dry lips. "It'll be dark soon."

"Yes," the ghost said. "There are several houses within walking distance."

She nodded violently. "Yes. I want a roof and walls. I don't want them to find me."

"They can't Take you now," the ghost said soothingly. "I'm here."

Lethia stared at him, uncomprehending. A tiny robot made no difference at all to the Darkness and the Taken. She had no weapons, no fighting skills. She was a lowly cook in a cafe. She knew food, not battle.

The ghost guided her up a steep, rocky path and to a tiny shack built into the mountainside. It was unoccupied, the front door standing open when the occupants had fled. Lethia went inside, locked the door, and drank as much water as she could force down. Then she curled up in a chair and stared out a window, watching the sun set, waiting for monsters.

"What's your name?" the ghost asked gently.

He asked her twice before the question registered. "Lethia Mar." The question seemed small and unimportant compared to watching for Taken.

The ghost activated a scanning beam and swept it over her. Comforting warmth washed through her, easing the ache in her legs and back, relaxing some of the stress in her brain.

She sighed. "Thank you. I didn't know ghosts could do that."

"All ghosts can heal their Guardians," he replied.

Lethia barely registered his words, let alone their meaning. The ghost watched her nervously, hoping she would catch on. She didn't.

"My name is Niki," he told her. "In case you wondered."

"Thanks," she said absently.

Niki hung in the air beside her for a while, waiting for her to realize what his presence meant. But she was too terrified, too focused on survival, to attend to anything he said. After a while he phased himself, hanging invisible in hyperspace, and kept watch from there.

Lethia got up and paced from window to window as the sun sank and stars sprang into the sky. Her blue skin swirled with motes of restless Light, giving her a muted glow in the gathering twilight. Her blue-green eyes gleamed in the darkness as she paced.

Niki phased back into reality. "There are no Taken or portals in our vicinity, Lethia."

She flinched away from his voice and movement. "Oh! It's you again. I thought you left. How do you know? That there's no Taken?"

"They emit a certain type of radiation," the ghost said. "Easy to detect. The city is overrun, but there's nothing out this far. We should try to find a jump ship. Get to Earth."

Lethia stared at him. "Leave the Reef? I can't leave the Reef. This is my home. I'm Awoken."

"Lethia," Niki said as gently as he could, "the Queen is dead. So is the Reef leadership. The Prince. Everyone. We need to get as far from here as we can."

She stared at him in silence for a long time. Her hands curled into fists. "I don't believe you."

"It's the truth," Niki said. "I've been monitoring transmissions. So many Guardians died in the attack on the Dreadnaught. Permanently dead, their ghosts killed."

Lethia gave a hard little laugh. "What's that to me? Let them die. Guardians were never alive to begin with."

Niki stared, aghast. "How could you say that?"

Lethia ignored this and returned to her chair to keep watch. "Is the Queen really dead?"

"As far as we know," Niki replied. "Her ship was destroyed. They all were. She may have escaped, but ... nobody knows. It's a terrible defeat, and it's still happening. If the Dreadnaught reaches the Reef, we won't survive. You must escape before that happens."

Lethia didn't answer. She kept her attention on the window, trying to decide if she believed the Traveler spawn or not. Ghosts were supposed to be truthful to a fault, due to being made of Light. But if he was telling the truth, then Mara Sov was dead. And everyone else the Awoken looked to for leadership and protection. She was on her own.

She drew a slow, deep breath. "Suppose I do steal a ship and ... and leave. Would Earth accept me?"

"Plenty of Awoken live in the Last City," the ghost assured her.

She shot him a look. "But isn't that city all Guardians? I won't live among the dead."

"The - live among -" Niki sputtered. "No! Guardians are alive. And the City is mainly the survivors of humanity who gathered under the Traveler for protection. Guardians live in the Tower and serve in the Vanguard."

Lethia gazed out the window for a while. She could see distant stars, the tiny moons of the asteroid belt, and the reflection of her own eyes. Nothing else. Her world was ending, and she didn't know how to cope. Fleeing to the Earth she had been taught to despise sickened her.

"Why are you still here?" she said, flashing Niki a disgusted look. "I'm Reefborn Awoken. We don't commune with the Traveler or its spawn. We are of both Light and Darkness. I don't need you."

"Yes, you do," the ghost said softly.

"No, I don't," Lethia said, rising to her feet and facing him. "Now get out of here before I knock you out of the air."

"Lethia," Niki said. "You're my Guardian."

She gave that ugly little laugh again. "Don't insult me, Traveler spawn. I was never dead. I'm not one of your enslaved warriors." She stepped forward, one fist clenched. "Now go."

The ghost disappeared. Lethia watched the spot where he had been to make sure he didn't reappear. Then she returned to the chair. The light spawn better not show up again. Claiming she was a Guardian - he must think she was stupid. What game was he playing?

The minutes became hours. No Taken appeared. By degrees, the terror and stress of the day took its toll. Lethia fell asleep with her head on the windowsill.


	2. Ferral

Lethia awoke at dawn with a cramp in her neck. Rubbing it, she explored the little shack, looking for food. She found a stack of canned goods in the tiny kitchen, cut them open with a knife, and ate three cans full of cold soup. She took as many as she could carry, put them in a bag, and set out into the chilly morning of the Reef.

She had walked half a mile down the narrow dirt road before it occurred to her that she had no idea where she was going. She halted and gazed across the landscape, vainly trying to remember how far it was to the nearest spaceport. She'd never been to the city's spaceport and had only the foggiest idea of where it lay. And once she found it, how would she procure a ship, and fly it? She had no money, and no idea how to operate a ship.

Suddenly swamped with despair, she sat on a rock and put her head in her hands. It was only a matter of time before the Taken found her, anyway. If the Dreadnaught reached the Reef, then there'd be a swarm of Hive coming, too.

She thought of her friends, and Sira - dead or Taken. Her only family was a sister who lived at the far end of the Reef and who Lethia hadn't spoken to in years. Lethia was alone. She used to like her solitary life, but now it seemed a crushing void. A lump grew in her throat. She'd lost everything, even her people.

As she sat there, the ghost's voice said softly, "I can help you, if you'll let me."

She glared around for him, jumping to her feet and picking up a rock. "Stay away from me. I'm warning you."

"Why do you despise me so much?" Niki said plaintively, his voice coming from nowhere. "I've found a ship nearby. But you have to let me help you."

"I need help from the Awoken," she snapped. "Not the Traveler. I won't be a slave, understand?"

Beneath her brave words, a new fear ate into her. What if the ghost told the truth? What if she had died without knowing it, and it had brought her back as one of those living dead Guardians? This fear was worse than her dread of the Taken. She might have already lost herself and didn't know it. But instead of being Taken by the Darkness, the Light had taken her first.

"Please, Lethia," the ghost said from nowhere. "Put down the rock."

"First tell me," she said, "did I die?"

"No," the ghost replied.

"Ha!" Lethia exclaimed. "Then I can't possibly be a Guardian."

"You don't have to die to be a Guardian," the ghost replied. "I bonded to you to save you from being Taken. Guardians can't be Taken unless they will it. It's the Light."

That flash of Light she had seen - the way the ghost had blasted her, and the portal had released her. She had become a Guardian in that second?

Lethia threw her rock on the ground with such force that it shattered. Tears filled her eyes. "I'm still Taken," she whispered. "Just ... not by Darkness."

"No!" the ghost exclaimed. "The Light gives. It doesn't Take."

"I'm obliged to fight for the Traveler now!" she shouted. "How is that giving? It's the same as Darkness! I'm only a puppet and you're the one pulling my strings!" She picked up more rocks and threw them in random directions, hoping to knock the ghost out of his hiding place. Then she ran down the path, holding back sobs, dashing away her tears.

She wouldn't serve the Traveler or the Darkness. She'd hide far out in the Reef somewhere, where no monster would ever find her. She'd get rid of the ghost somehow. She'd break out of this Guardian curse. There had to be a way.

Lethia turned a corner and nearly ran into a cluster of Taken.

They were wavering, wobbling humanoid figures in black, their feet burning white where they touched the ground. All of them had a blob of burning whiteness on their foreheads. They screeched and swayed toward Lethia, reaching out to grasp her.

Panicked, Lethia swung her bag of canned goods like a club. It struck the nearest Taken in its glowing forehead. It shrieked, folded in on itself, and vanished in a spiral of blackness. The others hesitated a split second, giving Lethia time to turn and run.

"That's how you treat Taken!" the invisible ghost crowed in her head. "I've got to find you some weapons."

Lethia wanted to argue, but the Taken were shooting bolts of white fire at her, and she had to concentrate on running and dodging. A fire bolt burned into her back. She swallowed her scream and kept running.

Warmth touched the wound. The pain faded. "Got it," the ghost reported. "Take the next left turn. There's a jump ship hidden nearby."

She didn't want to follow his instructions, didn't want him talking to her. But, blast it all, she wanted to escape from certain death. If that meant leaving the Reef, so be it. She turned left.

The path led them into a little glade of trees with their branches twisted into pretty shapes by the wind. Lethia hid among them and watched the path for pursuit.

"A little further," said the ghost in her head. "Don't let the Taken track you in."

Lethia hurried deeper into the glade. After a few minutes, she came to an open meadow among the trees. An Earth-made jump ship filled most of it - a craft like a jet with wheel-like hover engines under the wings. An Awoken man worked on one of the engines, his tools clattering inside the metal fuselage. Lethia's stomach clenched - it was the Guardian in the cloak who had bought tea the day before. Same white-streaked hair, same V-shaped birthmark on his forehead.

He saw her and jumped, whipping out a sidearm. "Who are you?"

"Lethia Mar," she said. " From the cafe. The Taken are following me. Does your ship fly?"

"In a manner of speaking," he said stiffly, holstering his weapon. "Assuming I can get this part fixed. I'm headed for Earth. One way. You won't like it."

He didn't seem dead, Lethia thought. He acted very much alive.

"I don't care where you're going," she replied. "Just get me out of here."

The ghost phased into being beside her. "Please, Ferral, she's a new Guardian. She doesn't know anything yet."

"Huh," Ferral grunted. "Can't turn down a fellow Guardian. Get aboard. Unless you know anything about fixing engines?"

"I'm a cook," she said haughtily. "But this ghost might help you." She climbed the steps into the ship, leaving her ghost and Ferral gazing after her, nonplussed.

The ship's interior was small and narrow. Lethia had to duck her head to avoid the low ceiling. There were no seats aside from the pilot and copilot seats in the cockpit. She went to the copilot seat and halted.

A folded cloth filled most of the seat, and nestled into it was another ghost. A badly damaged ghost, its shell piled around its core in pieces. The core was patched together with electrical tape, but trickles of blue Light escaped around the edges and vanished into the air. The ghost's blue eye blinked up at her. "Who are you?" it said weakly.

"Lethia," she said, watching a bead of Light form around a corner of the tape. "What happened to you?"

"The Taken got me," the ghost replied, as if that explained everything. "You ... you're a Guardian, too."

She sat in the pilot seat and folded her arms. "Yes. But I wasn't asked. A ghost just turned me into one. It's not fair. I wasn't dead yet."

"You ... you weren't?" the injured ghost said. "That's very rare. You and your ghost are lucky."

"No!" she exclaimed. "Not lucky! I'm enslaved to the Traveler like the rest of them! Like - like how you enslaved Ferral! He was dead, wasn't he? And you raised him to be the Traveler's undead slave."

"How ... dare ... you," the ghost whispered, its eye flashing red. "You ignorant Awoken and the lies you tell each other. Ferral is the best thing in my life, and he's the farthest thing from a slave you can imagine."

"You're in pieces, and you're going to argue with me?" Lethia snapped. "I could kill you."

"You wouldn't want to see Ferral's reaction, if you did," the ghost replied. "He would hunt you across the planets for the rest of your short life."

Lethia bared her teeth. "Like it or not, I'm a Guardian now. Guardians don't die."

The ghost looked at her a moment in silence, more Light leaking from its wounds. "I think the Traveler made a mistake."

"Yes," Lethia snapped. "It did. Or that ghost did."

Footsteps clanged on the steps. Ferral swung into the ship and advanced to the cockpit, stooped to avoid the ceiling as if it was the easiest thing in the world. He gestured for Lethia to clear out of the pilot seat. "The engine might start now. Just a minute."

As Lethia climbed out of the chair and squeezed past him, she caught Ferral studying his ghost, the corner of his lip between his teeth. He actually cared about the rude little thing. She glanced around for her ghost, but didn't see it.

Ferral slid into the seat and worked the controls. Outside, the port engine coughed and sputtered to life. "Yes!" Ferral exclaimed. He jumped out of his seat and hurried outside to do a preflight check. When he returned, he slammed and locked the outer door, then went to the cockpit and very gently lifted the ghost and its cloth off the copilot's seat. "Strap in," he told Lethia.

As she obeyed, she watched him out of the corner of her eye. Ferral sat in the pilot's seat, harnessed in, then nestled the injured ghost securely in his lap, tucking the cloth around it like a mother with a baby.

Lethia's ghost said in her head, "Poor Banner. He's going to die if he doesn't get help soon."

Lethia didn't want to care about this undead Guardian and his light spawn. But Ferral's anxiety and tenderness showed in his every movement. In spite of herself, it made Lethia care, too, just a little.

Ferral ignited the other engine and put on his headset. Lethia put on the copilot's headset, as the engine noise became too loud for conversation. Ferral lifted off the ground and took off at a steep angle, climbing rapidly. The trees fell away. Mountains dropped below them. There was nothing above them but blue sky and white clouds. Within minutes, they'd climbed above those, too. The blue sky began to darken as they rose above the Reef's thin layer of atmosphere.

"Fuel tank is low," his ghost said over the radio. "Consider switching to auxiliary tank."

"Switching in five," Ferral said. "Lethia, watch the radar for bogies." He pointed to a green and black screen that currently showed nothing but them.

"Do the Taken fly spacecraft?" Lethia asked.

"The Hive do," Ferral replied grimly. "The Dreadnaught is only three AU from the Reef, close enough for their tombships to get here. We can't fight one of those."

"Doesn't this ship have a jump drive?"

"Yes," Ferral said with exaggerated patience. "But we have to be out of the Reef's gravity well before the computer can make the calculations. Otherwise the backwash might shatter the planetoid. Or us."

The sky was entirely black, now. Out the window, the Reef's great stony arch lay below, the atmosphere like a misty blue sea surrounding it.

Lethia watched the radar as Ferral piloted the ship. Several times he spoke into the radio, trying to contact air traffic control at the space ports. Nobody answered.

"The Taken overran Reefedge City," Lethia said. "I only made it out because of that ghost."

Ferral glanced at her, taking in her rumpled, dirty clothes, the way her hair hung in her eyes. "I was out here to visit f-friends. Got the call that every spare Guardian was to meet up and attack the Dreadnaught. But my ship broke down and I couldn't make the rendezvous. That was out near the Tangled Shore. I thought I had it fixed, made it this far, cursed thing broke down again. I'm praying it'll hold up long enough to use the jump drive."

Lethia nodded. Inwardly, she thought, _Guardians have friends?_ She'd been told all her life that Guardians were mindless killing machines.

"Are you Reefborn?" she asked.

Ferral smiled, a little sadly, she thought. "Maybe. My ghost resurrected me on Earth, but my birthmark matches the mark of the Dasa clan out here in the Reef. Guardians aren't allowed to try to find out their own past history, but, uh ... would you mind not mentioning it to anyone?" He blushed a little, causing the Light under his skin to swirl a little faster.

She nodded and smiled. Ferral was cute when he was embarrassed, even if he was an undead monster.

"How about you?" he said. "Where'd your ghost find you?"

"I ... " Lethia hesitated. Her loathing of Guardians would probably offend this man, and she needed him and his ship to escape the Darkness invading the Reef. She tried to speak lightly. "I never died. The ghost found me just before a black portal could Take me."

Ferral whistled through his teeth. "Close one! Ghosts can't usually detect a spark unless the person is dead. Too much interference. I wonder how your ghost pulled it off?"

She shrugged. To her surprise, her ghost spoke over the radio. "Her spark is very strong. I detected it a mile away, but with all the portals opening, it took a while to catch her. I was terrified she'd be Taken before I could reach her."

The ghost had been scared for her?

"You never mentioned that," she said.

"Well," the ghost said, "you haven't been in much condition for conversation."

That was putting it charitably. Lethia thought of the way she had treated the ghost and felt vaguely ashamed. What was its name? Niki? It couldn't help being light spawn. And it had been extremely kind to her, even though it had enslaved her to the Traveler. She could at least be courteous.


	3. Flight

As they left the Reef behind them and soared out into space, the radar detected three blips moving toward their position. "Bogies!" Lethia exclaimed. "Coming up on our tail, seven o'clock."

"Oh come on," Ferral groaned. "Banner, can you tell what they are?"

His ghost said, "Hive fighters. Sensors show a tombship using an asteroid as cover one AU behind them."

"Can we outrun them?"

Banner sounded exhausted. His eye flickered on, then off again in Ferral's lap. "The port engine shouldn't be pushed past sixty percent. The heat will break the stabilizer panel loose again."

"Doesn't this ship have weapons?" Lethia exclaimed.

"I have a bolt cannon," Ferral replied, scowling at his instruments. "But this is a jump ship, not a fighter. No armor, no shields, only speed. And not much of that."

Lethia was a voracious reader. Her tiny house was packed with books on multitudes of topics. One of her favorite topics was the physics of space battles. Much ink had been spilled on the origin of the Awoken, and of all the things the colonists could have done differently as the Light and Darkness collided in the midst of their ships.

"Have we reached a stable orbit yet?" she asked.

"No," Ferral replied. "I have to burn the engines four more minutes. The Hive ships are moving to intercept us and I can't maneuver. Changing course now will slingshot us back into the Reef, and I don't have the fuel for another takeoff."

Lethia gripped her armrests and fumed, watching the three Hive fighters closing in. "Hey, ghost. Niki. Any suggestions?"

"A few," Niki replied. "Does the bolt cannon rotate?"

"Yes," Ferral replied, "but only forty-five degrees left and right. I can't shoot behind us." He looked at the ghost in his lap. "Ban, if only you were well, I'd suit up and give them a fight in free fall."

"Sorry," the ghost whispered.

Ferral gave Lethia a speculative look. "You're a Guardian. You could fight them."

Lethia opened her mouth to refuse. Then she looked at the bogies inching closer and closer. "I don't have a weapon."

"I'll loan you mine," Ferral said. "I have a grenade launcher that works in vacuum. But tether to the ship, or it'll throw you into space."

Lethia's nerve nearly failed at this thought. But it was fight or die, and after running helplessly from Taken, she was ready to fight.

* * *

When Lethia emerged from the tiny airlock, clad in a space suit that was too big, and lugging a bulky grenade launcher, the Hive ships were close enough to see clearly. They were black, jagged things like flying knives, lit with green running lights. Lethia was reminded of wolves chasing a deer - the jump ship was sleek and clean in comparison.

Her belt had a rope clipped to it that was hooked to a bar inside the airlock designed for that purpose. She checked it nervously. "I have visual contact," she told Ferral through the helmet radio.

"Fire at will," he replied. "Thirty seconds left on the burn."

The jump ship's exhaust burned away behind them in a glowing trail. Out here, the engines made no sound, but the ship's frame vibrated with their thrust. The Reef lay to the right, a great ring of rock and metal, encircled by layers of atmosphere and clouds. The Dreadnaught sat outside it, a horrifying spiky shape, half-hidden in the asteroid field's dust. That was where her Queen had died.

Lethia tore her eyes away from it. She and Ferral would die, too, if she didn't land these shots. She braced her elbows on the jump ship's roof, hooked her feet in the airlock's doorway, and aimed down the grenade launcher's sights.

In gravity, the grenade would travel in an arc. It was important to aim high. However, in zero-g, the grenade's inertia would carry it in a straight line until it collided with another object. Lethia carefully aimed at the nearest Hive fighters and squeezed the trigger.

The launcher fired the grenade, kicking back so hard that Lethia flipped over, sailed backward, and hit the end of her tether. The impact nearly cracked her spine. She clung to the weapon with one hand and tugged herself in on the tether with the other.

"Nice shot!" her ghost exclaimed.

She hadn't even had a chance to see if she'd hit. Now she looked up to see one of the Hive fighters spinning out of control, a plume of smoke trailing from its side.

The other two fighters lit with green light. Bright projectiles left them and darted toward the jump ship.

"They're firing!" she exclaimed.

"Ending the engine burn," Ferral said. "Get inside, Lethia. I'll try evasive maneuvers."

She clawed her way back inside the airlock and sealed the outer door. "I'm inside."

The jump ship whirled sideways. Lethia crashed into the wall and felt her arm break. She squealed in pain.

"Took two hits, avoided the rest," Ferral said. "You all right?"

"She will be in a minute," her ghost said. He appeared in the airlock with her, his blue eye glowing brightly. He played his healing beam over her broken arm, easing the pain, mending the fracture. Then he did the same for her back, where the tether had bruised it.

Lethia felt him heal her with awful mixed feelings. On one hand, this was part of being enslaved to the Traveler - eternally healing, never allowed to properly die. On the other hand - well, it was damn convenient to have such efficient healing in a fight.

"Thanks," she said stiffly.

Niki's eye light flicked into an upward V to create a smile emote. "You're welcome, Guardian."

"If you could shoot down the other fighters," Ferral broke in, "I'd be much obliged."

Lethia opened the airlock again, popped outside, and fired another grenade, managing the kickback better this time. The grenade missed, but made the Hive ships weave aside and fall behind. The third and final grenade destroyed the second fighter. The last ship wheeled and flew back toward the Reef.

"Almost to a safe jump distance," Ferral informed her. "Come back inside. You don't want to be in the airlock during a jump."

Relieved, Lethia worked the airlock, reentered the ship, and strapped into the copilot's seat, suit and all.

"Good job," Ferral said, holding out a fist.

Lethia stared at it. "What's that for?"

He gave her an apologetic look. "Oh. Reefborn. Right. This is called a fist bump. It's a ... gesture of mutual triumph."

She bumped her gloved fist into his, allowing herself a grin. "Mutual triumph."

Ferral reached to the top of the instrument panel and pushed a lever all the way down.

The stars blurred as the jump drive engaged. Thrust pinned them to their seats for a moment, grinding the breath from their lungs. Then the pressure abated, and they seemed to be standing still. The jump drive made a steady rumbling sound, but was far softer than the conventional engines had been.

"Love that relativity," Ferral said. "Earth is eight hours away, due to orbital differences."

"Do we have enough fuel?" Lethia asked, unstrapping her helmet.

"The jump drive burns glimmer," Ferral said. "I have plenty of that." He leaned back in his seat with a sigh and rubbed his eyes with a thumb and forefinger. "That was too close."

Lethia agreed, but didn't say so. She unbuckled and went in the back to remove the bulky space suit. As she returned it to its locker, Ferral called, "Could you grab my tool box? It's in the other locker."

She carried the heavy toolbox to the cockpit. Ferral opened it, rooted around inside, and produced a black roll of electrical tape. He tore off a strip, lifted his ghost's wrecked core, and began gently pressing another layer of tape over the leaking wounds.

Lethia's ghost appeared in a swirl of blue sparkles. "Poor Banner," he murmured. He swept his fellow ghost with a healing beam. Some of the Light stopped leaking out from under the tape.

"Thank you," Banner said, giving Niki a mournful look. "My core is crushed in such a way that it's cracked. I don't know if it can be fixed."

"They can fix anything in the Tower," Ferral said with forced cheerfulness. "Less than a day away, Ban. You'll make it."

The ghost's eye blinked up at him languidly. "I don't honestly know if I can, Ferral."

Ferral bit his lip and shut his eyes for a second, holding back tears. Then he silently tore off another strip of tape and applied it to the ghost's core.

Lethia sensed Ferral's grief and looked away. She didn't want to empathize with a Guardian. She also didn't want to feel sorry for a dying robot spawned by the Traveler.

Niki circled Ferral's hands, healing Banner again and again. Finally, Niki flew back to Lethia, shaking himself back and forth like a human shaking his head. "That's the best I can do." He floated above Lethia's left shoulder like he belonged there.

"Thanks," Ferral mumbled. He held Banner against his chest and bowed his head over him a moment. They whispered to each other. Lethia tried not to listen in, watching the instruments, instead.

"Do you all know each other?" she asked Niki quietly.

"We've met a few times," her ghost replied. "They saved me from a gang of Fallen, and I tagged along with them for a while. I'm glad, because it's how I found you."

_And made me into one of your monsters_ , she thought. But she had to keep such thoughts to herself. Ferral might throw her out the airlock, and if he used that grenade launcher much, he was a lot stronger than she was.

Lethia curled up in the seat and rested her head against the wall. She dozed rather than watch the Guardian with his dying ghost.

* * *

"Stay with me, Banner," Ferral whispered. "You're stronger than this. We've survived so much."

"I'm trying," the ghost whispered, his eye light flickering. "I've lost so much Light, Fer. I'm cold. Niki's healing beam just goes right through me and doesn't stick."

Ferral tucked the ghost's little core in the crook of one arm and cradled him there. "Is this any better?"

"A little," Banner said.

Ferral watched their progress as the jump ship inched toward Earth. If only they could make it home. He'd seen the Tower engineers repair ghost cores before. Surely they could fix Banner. Surely he wouldn't lose him.

Lethia had gone to sleep in the copilot's seat. She had looked exhausted since she blundered upon them in that clearing - the weary, desperate look of a refugee. But she was so very Reefborn, with all the prejudices of her race. Why in the world had Niki chosen her? She'd been taught from birth to hate Guardians, mostly because the Queen did.

All Awoken were like that. Ferral had had the hardest time finding anything out about himself and the Dasa clan, simply because he was a Guardian. He was dead to them, and they refused to interact with him at all. He'd finally found some chatty servants who informed him that he'd once served under Prince Uldren himself, as one of his spy network. But Ferral had been killed in the line of duty. His family had mourned him and moved on. They would never forgive him for coming back as a Guardian.

Ferral took the rejection hard. No wonder the Vanguard forbade knowledge of a prior life. He had sat in his ship for a whole day, staring at nothing, not even speaking to his anxious ghost. Getting the call to assemble and fight the Dreadnaught had been a relief, because it gave him something else to think about.

Then the Taken had nearly killed Banner with a single well-aimed blow, and Ferral's priority became to save his friend however possible.

Banner gazed up at him, sensitive to his Guardian's moods, even as weak as he was. "You're still upset about the Dasas?"

"Of course not," Ferral said. Then he sighed and closed his eyes. "When you've been alone this long, you wish ... you hope for that connection to a legacy. I didn't spring out of the void - I was born. And ... Ban, I can't help coming back as a Guardian. I'm the same person. It just ... hurts."

"I'm sorry," Banner whispered. "We ghosts don't think about that when we raise our Guardian. All I knew was that you were perfect."

"I'm not blaming you, little light," Ferral murmured with a smile. "I'm the one who broke the Vanguard prohibition. And now I'm paying for it." He ran his fingers over the tape covering the ghost's core. "How are you feeling?"

"Weak," Banner said. "But less Light is escaping my spark. Plus ... yours is so near. It helps."

Ferral said nothing for a while, just watching their progress toward Earth and stroking the ghost's taped core with his fingertips. If his ghost died, he wouldn't be a Guardian anymore. But his clan still wouldn't accept him. He'd been dead eighty years. His mother was dead, and his father was the clan patriarch. His brothers and sisters all held positions of power among the Awoken, and were not pleased to see a dead sibling return to threaten their holdings. Once, Ferral had been the eldest. Now he was the youngest.

And there was a good chance that most of the clan had been Taken.

"I wish I hadn't looked them up," he whispered to Banner. "Now I don't know where I belong. The Vanguard? The Reef? Neither one will want me if I ... if you ..." He trailed off, unwilling to say it aloud.

"I've been thinking about that, too," Banner admitted. "If I don't make it. You told me once that you wished you could work in one of the weapons foundries. I think you should do that."

"That's assuming you don't make it," Ferral said. "Which you will. So it doesn't matter."

His ghost blinked up at him. "It never hurts to plan ahead. For instance. That Lethia girl told me I had enslaved you and threatened to kill me."

Ferral tensed and cast her a dark look. "She did, huh?"

"Her Reefborn prejudice is very strong," Banner said. "She despises her own ghost, too. I listened to them talk. Keep watch. She may go as bad as Dregden Yor."

"Dear Traveler, I hope not." Ferral cast her a sideways look, assuring himself that she was asleep. "Just a few more hours and the Vanguard will deal with her. They'll straighten her out."


	4. Crash

A red light began to blink on the instrument panel. Banner's eye flicked toward it. "Uh oh."

Ferral leaned forward and squinted at the light, which he'd never seen before.

_Jump drive failure_

"Failure?" Ferral exclaimed. "Jump drives can fail? What in the-" He set Banner in his lap and pulled up the computer's readout. As best as he could tell, the energy bolts from the Hive fighters had ruptured a coolant line. Coolant had slowly drained from the jump drive, which was overheating and about to shut down.

Rather than burn out the engine, he'd have to drop back into real space and try to make repairs in zero G. Sweating, Ferral pulled up the solar system map. They weren't far from Mars. The Vanguard had holdings there. He could land, refuel and repair, and head to Earth from there.

He eased back the throttle on the jump drive. They returned to real space with a jolt that awakened Lethia.

"What's happening?" she said, sitting up and adjusting her harness.

Ferral told her. Lethia listened with a frown. He expected her to criticize him for having such a lousy ship. But all she said was, "Are there Taken on Mars?"

"Cabal, mostly," he replied. "And some Hive."

She nodded and settled back in her seat, gazing at the stars outside the cockpit window. "As long as there's no Taken."

Ferral was more concerned about limping his ship into Martian orbit. The jump drive left the ship with decent inertia, but he had to fire the other engines in short bursts to alter their trajectory, and they were nearly out of fuel.

"Banner, calculate how long I can burn each engine before the fuel is gone."

"I can't," the ghost replied quietly.

Ferral glanced at the robot in his lap. His eye was dim and flickering, but fixed on his Guardian in loyalty. "I haven't the strength anymore."

Ferral slammed a fist on the chair's armrest and bowed his head, teeth clenched to hold back the grief that threatened to choke him.

Lethia held out a hand, summoning her ghost. "Here. Niki can do it."

Ferral nodded, his throat too tight for speech.

Niki ran the calculations in a few seconds, then began trying to heal Banner again. Banner's eye brightened a little and stopped flickering. Niki had again bought him another hour or two.

The engines fired in short bursts, bringing Mars into view: a half-lit red disk against the blackness of space. It grew larger, then slowly dropped away to their left as they veered into a steep orbit.

"Does Mars have atmosphere?" Lethia asked. "There's only one space suit back there."

"It's thin, but breathable," Ferral said. "And cold. But not much worse than the Reef. Mars gets more sunlight."

"Oh yes," Lethia said, wrinkling her nose. "The Traveler terraformed Mars at one time, didn't it?"

"Yes," Ferral said. "A long time ago. But it fell apart when the Darkness arrived. It's gone back to being a desert world."

Lethia shrugged. "What a waste."

Ferral couldn't tell if she meant Mars or the Traveler, and he didn't ask. He stroked Banner and watched his computer repeatedly calculate their approach vector. It kept flashing crash alerts, then canceling them. He couldn't afford a crash. Quite apart from ruining his only ship, Banner probably didn't have the strength to resurrect him.

And a crash would finish Banner off, anyway.

As they dropped lower and lower toward the red planet, Ferral said suddenly, "Lethia, are you a warlock?"

She blinked at him. "I beg your pardon?"

"You're a Guardian," he said. "You draw power from the Traveler, so, what type of power? I'm a hunter, and my power relates to survival and stealth. Titans are armored defenders, and warlocks are about knowledge and magic. Which are you?"

A blank stare was his only response.

Niki flew to her, studied her a moment, then turned to Ferral. "She has warlock inclinations, but she hasn't tapped her power properly yet."

"Thank the Light." Ferral gestured to his dying ghost. "Warlocks can use the Light to heal. Could you do that for Banner? He needs so much more Light than he's getting."

Lethia flushed, her blue skin taking on a purple tint. "I'd rather die than call on the Traveler."

Heat flooded Ferral's body. He was so desperate to save Banner, and hearing this girl spouting Reef prejudice was too much. "My ghost is dying! Doesn't that mean anything to you?"

Lethia glanced at her own ghost and shrugged. "You'll be free."

Niki gave her a hurt look.

"Free?" Ferral exploded. "Free to lose all connection to the Light! Free to lose my best friend! Free to go mad and die! A ghost is the other half of a Guardian's soul, understand? Losing Banner will mean losing ... myself."

Lethia listened to his outburst with cold interest. "I didn't think Guardians had souls."

He envisioned hitting her hard enough to send her through the side of the ship and into space. Rather than resorting to violence, he gripped the flight stick hard enough to leave finger marks in the metal frame.

"Calm down," Banner whispered to his mind through their combined Light. "I'm not leaving you just yet."

Niki was saying, "Lethia, of course Guardians have souls. That's the spark that we ghosts bond to."

She gave a shrug and a nasty little laugh. "Well, that's nice. But they're still undead slaves."

"Will you," Ferral said through his teeth, "will you. Just. Shut. Up."

Lethia folded her arms and slouched in her seat, saying nothing else.

Ferral was glad, because his rage was focusing his Light into the beginnings of a grenade in his right hand. If he had to listen to any more Awoken nonsense, he'd kill all of them right there in orbit.

A corner of his mind pointed out that he was being irrational. But fear of losing his ghost and the stress of dealing with his ship had pushed him further than he could handle. And hearing this stupid Reefborn spouting her shallow, ignorant hatred would push him right over the edge.

The ship spiraled around Mars, dropping into the atmosphere and beginning a reentry burn. Ferral clung to the controls as G-force pushed him back in his seat. He kept one hand cupped around Banner, trying to cushion him from the worst of it. He didn't look to see how Lethia was doing. She could suffer, for all he cared.

The crash alert returned to the computer's screen and didn't vanish.

"Ferral," Banner said through their Light link. "We're going in too hot. Martian atmosphere isn't as thick as Earth's."

Ferral's anger turned to a cold, hard rock in his stomach. He glanced at the crash alert, then his altitude reading, then his atmospheric speedometer.

"If we crash, you'll die for certain," he thought to his ghost. "So. We're not going to crash." And he began to drag back on the flight stick.

Maneuvering during reentry was hazardous, because the forces involved could rip the wings right off a ship, or send it into a death spin. Ferral knew this, and handled it gently, working with the ship, guiding it ever so slightly into a shallower dive.

The computer recalculated. The crash alert returned.

Lethia noticed. Her eyes widened as she glanced at the computer, then him, then at the onrushing planet far below. "We're crashing?"

"Nope," Ferral said through his teeth. "Not today."

The reentry burn faded as they descended deeper into the atmosphere. But their speed was still too great. Ferral pulsed the hover jets, working with grim patience as their altitude dropped and dropped. Slowly their speed decreased.

A mountain range rose beneath them like the barren spine of some ancient beast. Ferral guided the ship toward the eastern end, where a Vanguard base was laid out in white, orderly squares.

Just when it seemed they would make it, an alarm sounded. Red lights ignited all over the control panel. The engines had run out of fuel.

Ferral swore in terrified frustration. As the ship nosed downward, he struggled to control it, tried to glide as long as possible. The jagged mountainside rose up beneath the ship, ready to tear the ship and its passengers to pieces.

Ferral picked up Banner, wrapped him in the cloth, and clutched him to his chest as he braced himself for impact.

For a breathless second, the ship fell in silence toward the rocks. Then the ship hit the ground, and the world shattered around them.

* * *

As the ship descended, Lethia thought, "Niki, do I have the power to shield us?"

"Titans have shields," Niki said doubtfully. "If you cast a healing rift here in the cockpit, you might be able to build into it. But that's very advanced Light use."

"What's the point of being a Guardian if I can't use Light the way I need to?" Lethia snarled. "How do I use it?"

"Envision what you want to do," Niki replied. "I'll channel the Light into you."

Lethia pictured a golden bubble surrounding her and Ferral, creating an impenetrable barrier between them and the disintegrating ship.

"I can't ... quite do that," Niki said. "But we can do this."

The image in her mind became more of a ring of Light that blazed around them, healing all wounds as soon as they were inflicted.

"That, then," Lethia said, and stamped a foot.

The ship hit the ground just as a healing rift filled the cockpit.

Lethia had the impression that the ship was traveling through a grinder. The entire front panel crushed inward, trapping their legs. The window glass exploded. The walls compressed in upon the passengers. The world spun and wheeled outside, the ship bouncing end over end.

Then the ship was still. Lethia wasn't sure when it all stopped - there was a gap in her awareness. The healing Light was gone, so she must have blacked out. Ferral lay unconscious in the next seat, blood covering the side of his face. The cockpit had shrank inward, the instrument panel now nearly in their laps.

As Lethia fought to free her legs, she noticed the bundle that had contained Ferral's ghost was caught between the broken panel and the floor. She kicked her way free, unbuckled the flight harness, and picked up the bundle.

Banner's core was still inside, but his eye was dark. No Light leaked from beneath the tape anymore.

For a second, Lethia had a vivid memory of holding a dead sparrow as a child, begging her mother to fix it, somehow. The tiny, delicate body had felt so light, the feathers so soft. She had cried for hours, stroking it.

Then she reminded herself that this was only a ghost, just one more spawn of the Traveler. So what if he had a name, and Ferral had been so desperate to save him? Ghosts raised undead warriors.

So she told herself. But she held the lcold taped sphere in both hands for a moment, trying in vain to warm it. Then, with a glance at Ferral's unconscious face, she tucked the core into her shirt pocket.

"Niki?" she said aloud.

"What - what," he replied in her head, sounding dazed. "I think I ... must have come out of phase in the crash." He appeared in a flicker of Light. Half his segments were bent to one side, as if he'd taken a heavy blow. He traced her with a healing beam in a slow, bemused way. Then he did the same to Ferral.

"Banner's dead," Lethia told Niki. Wait, why had she used the ghost's name?

Niki made a mournful moaning sound. "I didn't think he'd survive. Where is he?"

"Lost in the wreck, I think," Lethia lied. She picked up the empty cloth. "I found this."

At that point, Ferral stirred and looked at her. He stared at the cloth for a long moment. Then he drew a huge breath. "Banner!" He struggled and kicked, his legs pinned under the instrument panel. "Where's Banner?"

"This is all I found," Lethia said. She didn't know why she didn't just give him the dead core. Some instinct told her to keep the ghost very close and secret for a while, and she didn't have time to ponder why.

Ferral stopped struggling and lay motionless in his seat, one hand over his face. Lethia heaved at the broken instrument panel and managed to lift it a few inches. He pulled his legs free with a wince.

Niki healed him again and murmured, "I'm so sorry."

Ferral didn't answer. He crawled out of his seat and began searching through the wreckage that covered the floor.

"He may have been thrown out of the ship," Lethia said.

Ferral shot her a savage look. "You don't understand. So don't say anything. All right?"

She looking at the tears gleaming in his eyes and nodded. She'd made herself odious to him and he had no ghost to keep him under control. So she climbed out the nearest broken window.

Seeing the ship from the outside, she was amazed they'd survived. It lay on a rocky hillside. The front section was crushed in on itself like the ship had hit a wall. One wing was missing, while the other was bent at a right angle, pointing into the sky. A trail of debris marked their path. From her position on the mountainside, it looked miles long.

The chilly wind whipped her hair in her face. She squinted across the barren Martian landscape and tried to remember where the Vanguard base lay. The crash had disoriented her, and she wasn't sure.

The slight weight of the ghost in her pocket nagged at her. Why had she kept it? It wasn't hers. Yet the alien energy inside her told her to hold onto it. That was it - she needed more Light.

Without thinking, Lethia called on her Light and dropped a small healing circle on the ground around her feet. The ground shimmered with light, lapping her feet and legs. Again, moving by instinct, she sat down in it. The Light swirled around her, as well as the core in her pocket.

"What are you doing?" Niki said, appearing beside her.

Lethia shrugged. "Shock."

It may have been shock, now that she thought about it. But it may also have been a prompt from elsewhere. She'd always thought she would have been an excellent Techeun, but positions weren't available to the general public. Awoken sensed things, and perhaps becoming a Guardian had amplified that part of her.

She sat in the rift, reactivating it whenever it began to fade. There was no sign of life from Banner, but Lethia didn't stop. It was important to keep the rift going.

After a long time, Ferral crawled out of the wreckage. He climbed the hill a short distance and stood looking at his ruined ship. Then he slowly began picking his way along the trail they had left, still looking for his ghost's core.

"Why don't you tell him you have it?" Niki said.

Lethia shot him a quick look. "How do you know?"

"I saw when you checked it a few minutes ago," Niki said. "It's sweet of you to try to revive Banner, but ... I'm afraid he's returned to Light."

Lethia shrugged. "Let me experiment with Light. I have a feeling."

"You could tell Ferral what you're doing."

"He'd take the core back. And I have to do this right now." Lethia couldn't explain it any more clearly than that.


	5. Survival

Niki fell silent and floated beside her, weaving a little in the wind. They watched Ferral shrink into the distance, pausing often to sit on a rock and rest.

"A Guardian is lesser without their ghost," Lethia observed. "Look at him. He's not even Awoken - he's diminished."

"And together, we're more," Niki said softly. "That's why it's such a tragedy when a Guardian loses a ghost."

Lethia had never thought about any of this before. Guardians seemed like untouchable, immortal demigods. Yet, here was one who had been mortal before his Light was lost.

"Are they all like Ferral?" she blurted. "So ... normal, I mean."

Niki nodded. "Guardians are people. They make mistakes. They get tired and hungry and scared. But they're Guardians, so they hide it. But they can't hide it from their ghosts. We know."

"But they're undead," Lethia said in bewilderment. "Aren't they?"

"Being resurrected doesn't make them undead," Niki said. "Undead would be soulless shells. Look at Ferral. He wishes he was soulless so he wouldn't have to grieve the way he's doing."

Lethia watched the distant figure sitting on a rock with his head in his hands. From here, she couldn't see the details of his armor. All she saw was his dejected posture, the despair in every line of him.

She refreshed the healing rift. Then she pulled out the dead little core and rolled it back and forth between her palms. The fatal crack in the core was a pronounced ridge, even under the tape. Lethia rolled it back and forth, round and round, as if working with clay. She didn't think about what she was doing - she mostly watched Ferral in the distance and thought hard about Guardians. But the light of the healing rift gathered in her hands. The crack in the core gradually smoothed away.

"But why?" she asked Niki suddenly. "Why do we Awoken hate Guardians so much, then?"

"Because Mara Sov has taught you so," Niki replied.

"Why does she hate them?"

"She's _your_ queen," Niki said. "I have no idea."

Lethia looked at the core she was rolling in her hands. "I don't, either. I wish I knew more about both sides. Awoken ... and Guardians. I thought I knew a lot, but I guess I don't know much at all. They're not just ... Light Taken?"

"No!" Niki exclaimed. "And there's those in the City who would brand you a heretic for even suggesting it."

Lethia smiled. "The Awoken would throw me out for becoming a Guardian. I guess I don't fit in anywhere."

"You belong with the Guardians, of course," Niki said. "Just don't mention the Taken thing. The Light is about giving, and sacrifice, and blessing, and restoration, and life. The Darkness glorifies selfishness, greed, murder, and death. It Takes because that's what it does. It gives nothing but death."

Lethia nodded, trying to match this with everything she'd been taught since she was small. "So, as an Awoken, with the powers of both Light and Darkness ..."

"... you would be a powerful Guardian, indeed," Niki finished.

In the distance, Ferral was returning, head down and shoulders slumped.

Lethia kept the healing rift burning. Banner's core felt smooth under her hands. The Light flowing through her felt warm and comfortable, and she wanted it to continue as long as possible. The cold little core had finally begun to grow warm, too.

Ferral walked up and stood gazing at the wrecked ship, not looking at Lethia.

"Are you all right?" she asked him. "I'm working on my healing rifts."

"I don't need healing," Ferral said. "I can't find his core. Banner died without me, and I can't even find him."

Lethia kept working the core in the midst of the rift and said nothing. She had to keep pouring in the Light, but a sense of expectancy had begun to rise in her. She watched Ferral and waited.

"And I don't want to hear any cracks about Guardians," Ferral added. "Light, it was bad enough getting it from the Dasa clan. I'm severed now, and you ..." He looked at Lethia for the first time and saw the core in her hands.

He sprang at her, knocked her down, and snatched the core away, all in a single movement. He knelt in the healing rift, clutching the ghost to his heart. "You took him? You Dark-taken thief, he's my ghost! I should kill you-"

Lethia climbed to her feet, brushing off her clothes. Her sense of expectancy was so strong that she said nothing, only watched to make sure Ferral stayed in the rift.

* * *

Ferral was enraged and confused. The Awoken who hated ghosts and Guardians had stolen poor Banner's dead core. It made no sense. But Ferral was in no mood to try to understand. He knelt in her healing rift and gazed into the dark eye.

"Ban," he whispered, "I'm so sorry. I should have protected you. I didn't take better care of you, and now - now you're gone." He kissed the dark eye and pressed the core to his heart again, desperate and grief-stricken. He'd carry the core with him for the rest of his final life. A reminder of the friend he'd failed.

Lethia stood nearby in silence. Her hair and clothing fluttered in the wind, but otherwise she didn't move. Her blue-green eyes were fixed on him, unblinking.

"What are you looking at?" he snarled.

"Call him back," she said.

This was so far out of the realm of expected responses that Ferral stared at her blankly.

"Call him," Lethia repeated. "Only you can do it. He knows your voice."

Ferral dropped his gaze to the core in his hands. She was a warlock, after all. Warlocks knew things, even if she was a bigot.

"Banner," he said softly. "Banner, she thinks you can hear me. If you're in there, come back. I need you, little light."

No response. The eye remained dark. Ferral glanced at Lethia.

She motioned for him to continue.

"Banner," Ferral tried again. "Ban, come on, wherever you are. Don't go to the Traveler and leave me here. I still need you. You used to promise never to leave, even if we both died, remember? I always thought you were crazy. Banner, please, if you can hear me, please come back."

Had that been a flicker of light deep in the darkened eye?

"Banner?" Ferral exclaimed, looking closer. "Banner, you can do it! Come on, boy, you can make it. I'm here. I'm right here."

The core grew warm in his hands. The eye flickered again, brighter this time. A garbled sound echoed in Ferral's head, like a ghost trying to speak, but too weak to form the phrases correctly.

"Ban," Ferral whispered. "You're still alive. But I felt your Light go out. How is this possible? Come on, Ban, wake up."

The blue eye blinked on, the pupil focusing. It looked around, then settled on Ferral's face.

"Guardian," Banner whispered. "I left you. I'm so sorry. I couldn't help it."

Ferral laughed, even as tears ran down his face. He hugged the ghost again. "It's all right, Ban. I won't let you be hurt again."

"I might be able to move," Banner said, his voice strengthening. "Light, I feel better. Am I still bleeding?"

Ferral inspected the black tape. "I don't see any leaks."

"Check the crack in my core. I feel ... right. Have I been repaired?"

Ferral peeled back the tape very gently. The crack in the core had been fused together, with only a faint seam in the metal to show where it had been.

Ferral glared at Lethia. "You mended him? How?"

She shrugged. "I just used my healing rift."

"And her hands," Niki added cheerfully, flying forward. "She healed him for ages." He scanned his brother ghost. "Wow, Banner, you're completely well. Too bad you don't have a shell anymore."

Banner blinked at him. "I'm not the only one. What happened? You're all bent."

"The crash," Niki told him. "I don't even remember when it happened."

Banner slowly floated into the air, just a tiny ball with an eye on it. "I'm completely well, Ferral!" He spun to look at Lethia. "Thank you ever so much!"

She nodded and couldn't hold back a smile.

"Yes ... thank you," Ferral said, looking at Lethia like he'd never seen her before. "Why did you heal him? You went on about hating Guardians and ghosts."

Lethia's expression smoothed away, leaving her blank and frigid. "It was an experiment." She shoved her hands in her pockets and turned her back on him.

Ferral looked at Banner, confused and a little offended. Banner made a small, questioning sound. Then he disappeared in a swirl of Light. But he said in Ferral's head, "She's strange, that one. Are you all right?"

"I am, now," Ferral thought. "But damn, look at our ship. Insurance is going to throw a fit."

"I'd better take snapshots," Banner said. "What rotten luck we're having."

It was comforting to return to other matters. The wrecked ship seemed so trivial in comparison to losing and then regaining his ghost. Ferral kept wondering how Lethia had done it. Ghosts couldn't be revived - so what had she done?

As much as she disliked him, he'd probably never get a straight answer out of her.

* * *

Lethia climbed the hillside to the ridge. She teetered on a rock, the wind threatening to knock her over, trying to spot the Vanguard base.

"Niki," she said aloud, "wasn't there civilization around here?"

"Yes, actually," Niki said. "A Vanguard airbase eight miles to our west. However ... I don't want to alarm you ... but there's been no response to any of my calls."

"We're probably out of range," Lethia pointed out.

"I bounced my signal through a satellite," Niki replied. "They should have received it. But ... nothing. The Dreadnaught's attack may have triggered Hive or Taken activity all over the solar system."

Taken. A chill of dread sank through Lethia. Hive were bad enough, but Taken, too? Why hadn't she left them behind in the Reef?

"But they probably just didn't receive my message," Niki said with a nervous laugh. "I mean, this is the Vanguard we're talking about. Their job is dealing with Taken and Hive. Right?"

"Right," Lethia said. "Uh, eight miles, you said? Across rough terrain? Yeah, we'll be camping out tonight."

As much as she didn't want to. Not with the possibility of Taken creeping out of the darkness, wobbling and burning.

"See what supplies you can salvage," Niki suggested. "Blankets, food, any kind of shelter. Even terraformed, Mars has an average nighttime temperature of negative twenty degrees Celcius."

"Ferral won't like me picking through his stuff," Lethia said, making her way back down the steep hillside. "Every word I say infuriates him. I don't know how to communicate with him."

"Maybe stop insulting him?" Niki suggested hesitantly.

Lethia snorted. "When have I insulted him? I've asked honest questions."

"Well ..." Niki paused. "You did tell him that he would be better off if his ghost died."

Lethia opened her mouth and closed it again. She had said that. Then she had seen what actually happened when a Guardian lost their ghost. Her stomach clenched. She wanted to walk out into the surrounding desert and never look Ferral in the face again.

"Thanks for keeping such close track, Niki," she said dryly.

"You're welcome ... oh," Niki said. "You're being sarcastic."

"Yes. Sarcasm. I do that."

"Oh," Niki said again in a small voice.

Feeling like a heel, Lethia returned to the wreckage of the ship. Ferral had climbed back inside and was rattling around, pitching objects out the windows. She stood at a safe distance and watched.

Ferral stood and looked out a window at her. His white-streaked hair stood up in messy patches where blood had dried in it, and his blue-gray skin was grimy. His eyes glowed in the dimness inside the ship. What color were they? Lethia tried to figure it out. They might have been pale yellow, but from here, they simply glowed white.

"Well?" he said shortly.

"The Vanguard base is eight miles that way," she said, pointing west. "But my ghost can't contact them."

"Mine, either," Ferral said. He tossed his toolbox out the window, followed by a rifle. "This ought to be a fun hike."

"Are there any supplies in there?"

"There were." Ferral scowled. "I'm having to cut open my storage lockers. It might be a while. Make yourself useful and gather up the stuff I toss out." He ducked out of sight.

"Make yourself useful," she mimicked softly to herself, so he wouldn't hear. "Sorry not sorry I insulted you, oh high and mighty Guardian." She grudgingly began organizing the tools and weapons Ferral had found. Among them was her bag of soup cans, which she had completely forgotten about. At least they wouldn't starve.

"Is there any water?" she called.

"Yes," his voice echoed from inside the ship. "If I can get to it."

The sun had already passed noon and was headed toward the horizon. Lethia guessed they'd spend the night at the wreck. She went hunting the ship's missing wing, which would make a decent shelter.

It was half a mile from the ship. It had broken into three pieces, but the largest one was ten feet long and suited her purposes. Lethia began dragging it back to the wreck, stopping often to rest.

"I wish I could help," Niki said wistfully in her head.

"Have any music?" Lethia asked. "I like the Dreaming City choir."

"I have that!" Niki said. "And some similar artists, too. I like music." He played music in her head for the next two hours. She dragged in the wing and wrestled it into a rough lean-to on the sheltered side of the ship. The music made the work easier.

When Ferral climbed out of the ship, lugging a heavy water jug, he found Lethia had constructed a serviceable shelter out of the ship's wreckage.

"How'd you know how to build this?" he said, poking his head inside.

"My friends and I used to build forts in the woods," Lethia replied. "How much water do we have?"

"Enough for a week, if we're careful." Ferral unscrewed the jug's cap, which doubled as a cup, and poured each of them a drink.

Lethia watched him. His eyes were sunken with exhaustion, and his movements were slow and weary. He may be a jerk, but he was also spent, and people were never at their best when tired out.

"We have food," she pointed out. "Let's rest."

Ferral studied the sun's position. It was late afternoon by this time, and the sun was low and red. "I wish we had fuel for a fire," he muttered. "Cold food it is. I found the blankets, too." He went back to the ship to fetch them.

As he returned with an armload of camouflage-brown blankets, Lethia said, "You think we'll freeze to death?"

"We might," Ferral replied. "Our ghosts will resurrect us. It's not a big deal."

Lethia stared at him as he spread the blankets in the ground inside the shelter. "Maybe not for you. Do you know how long it takes to freeze to death? And how bad it hurts?"

He grinned. "Sounds like you've tried it."

Lethia hugged herself. "The Reef gets very cold at night."

"Some places on Earth do, too," Ferral replied. He sat back on his heels and looked at her, then the clear, pinkish sky. "So. Do we sleep together for warmth, or apart, and die of hypothermia?"

"Survival first," Lethia sighed. "Together, I suppose. Don't think it means I like you."

"As long as you don't murder me in my sleep, I don't care," Ferral replied. "This has been a lousy day and it hasn't gotten better."

They ate their cold soup in silence. Then they wrapped themselves in blankets and huddled together under another blanket. Lethia thought she would toss and turn on the hard ground, but she was more tired than she thought. She and Ferral were both asleep in less than ten minutes.


	6. Repairs

The two ghosts stood guard, phased and invisible. They spoke privately to each other on the unique frequency shared by all ghosts.

"Did you really die?" Niki asked. "Or were you only unconscious?"

"I don't know," Banner replied. "It was so cold and dark. I was trying to return to the Traveler, but it was so far away. I was afraid to cross that void all alone. I just wandered, lost. Then Ferral began calling me, and that's when I felt Lethia's warmth and Light. I was so relieved to find my way back."

"I'm glad you're alive," Niki said quietly. "I only wish ..."

"Wish what?"

"That she'd share some of that warmth with me."

Banner looked at Niki. In phase, each of them appeared as a flicker of Light. Niki's was dim and sad.

"Doesn't she love you?" Banner asked.

"No," Niki said. "I've wanted a Guardian for so many years. Finding her alive was such a joy. But ... she thinks she's been Taken. By Light. She resents me for making her a Guardian."

"I'm sorry," Banner said in a low voice. "Maybe she'll warm up to you? She's still so new."

"I hope so," Niki said mournfully. "I've heard of ghosts who chose their Guardians poorly. I never knew how that could be. I mean, her spark is so beautiful. But ... she doesn't like me, Banner. It breaks my heart."

"Surely she'll improve," Banner replied. "You've been educating her about the Light, right?"

"Of course," Niki said. "I've been trying to teach her that Guardians aren't just risen corpses - resurrection isn't necromancy. But the Awoken have made something joyous into something bleak and awful. She listens, but she doesn't understand. She's watching Ferral and you very closely. You're the first Guardian and ghost she's ever seen."

"Ferral is an excellent Hunter," Banner said, his Light brightening. "I'm proud to be his ghost. We'll be an exemplary example to Lethia."

They watched over their sleeping Guardians for a while, monitoring their life signs for any hint of hypothermia. The temperature was falling rapidly as Mars's thin atmosphere lost its daytime heating. The wind picked up and whistled through the holes in the wrecked ship. Sometimes it sounded like screaming.

Niki scanned the area. The wind's noise made him think of Taken, and finding his Guardian seconds before the Darkness consumed her. So many screams. There were no enemies within range of his scan. He tried contacting the Vanguard again, but there was no reply from them, either.

"Banner," Niki said, "why do you think we can't raise that Vanguard station?"

"It could be that our signals are too weak," Banner said. "But I've transmitted signals much farther than eight miles, so I doubt that's it. More likely, they all went to fight the Dreadnaught."

"I hadn't thought of that," Niki said in relief. "That's probably it. But ... would they leave the base completely empty?"

"No," Banner said slowly. "There should at least be a skeleton crew to work the defenses."

The ghosts thought about this in nervous silence.

"If enemies have overrun the base," Niki said, "what do we do then? Our Guardians are stranded."

Banner consulted a map of Mars he carried in his memory. "Well. There's Cabal about twenty miles south of us. We could hijack one of their ships."

Niki said nothing, but his light flared with anxiety.

"I keep forgetting," Banner said kindly, "you only just found your Guardian. Things are different now. _You're_ different now. You and Lethia may not be one hundred percent harmonized, but you're both stronger than you ever thought possible. Don't be afraid."

But Niki was afraid. Afraid of the vicious Cabal who took no prisoners.

Afraid that Lethia would despise him forever.

Afraid that even though he had found his Guardian, he was still utterly alone.

* * *

Ferral awoke from a nightmare about the ship crashing again. One moment, he was clinging to his seat as the cockpit caved in. The next, he was staring at a slice of gray sky outside their little shelter. Despite the blankets and the bundle of warmth that was Lethia at his back, his whole body felt shriveled with cold.

"Banner," he thought, "can you heal cold?"

He felt his ghost's healing beam sweep him. It felt warm for a few seconds, then the cold returned.

"Being cold isn't technically an injury," Banner replied. "Maybe get up and move around?"

Ferral got up, wrapped his cloak around himself, then added a blanket on top of that. The Martian dawn was so cold that it made his bones ache. If only he could have had a hot cup of tea. He stumbled out of the shelter, instead, stamping his feet. He had slept in his boots, but his feet were still numb.

"Any developments overnight?" he asked his ghost.

Banner appeared over his palm, just a little naked core. He shivered in the biting wind. "Nothing at all. Niki and I tried to contact the Vanguard base. No response."

"Not good," Ferral muttered through chattering teeth. "I sent them a mayday signal as we went down. If there was anybody there, the rescue craft would have been here by now."

He dismissed Banner, who phased in relief. "What's the condition of my sparrow?"

"I haven't checked." Banner worked a transmat beam to teleport the vehicle out of its storage space on the ship. It arrived in pieces.

Ferral gazed at his broken bike in chagrin. "Can't we ever catch a break?"

"Doesn't look like it."

Ferral knelt and examined the damage, fingering the spots where the frame had snapped. "I think I could fix it. Just a patch job that would get us to the base. The electronics are only damaged here and here, and I know how to fix that."

"I'll help," Banner said, cheering up.

As the sun rose and the temperature climbed, Ferral mended his sparrow. It gave him an excuse to not worry about the silent Vanguard base, and who might have received his mayday signal instead. It also kept him from wondering what to do about Lethia, who seemed to hate him, yet had revived his ghost. She was nothing but contradictions, and he couldn't make her out.

He mentally took stock of their situation as he worked. Banner was alive, but lacked a shell for protection. Lethia was a brand new Guardian with zero training. They had a little food and water, and they had landed near a Vanguard base that hadn't responded to their transmissions.

"Banner, what's the next closest Vanguard base?"

"Meridian Bay," the ghost replied. "About eight hundred miles northwest of here."

Ferral grunted in disgust. "We can't get there without a ship."

"There's a small Cabal base about twenty miles to the south," Banner said. "We could hijack a ship there."

"It'd be better than walking," Ferral said. "Can you fly a Cabal ship? I don't know their tech."

"Yes," Banner assured him. "I downloaded the Vanguard records on their ships when it first came in several years ago. It never hurts to be prepared."

Ferral grinned. "You're the best, Ban."

A warm surge of contentment touched his spark from Banner's. For some reason, it reminded Ferral of the blank emptiness he'd experienced when Banner had died. Tears sprang to his eyes, blurring his view of his sparrow. He wiped them away, pretending the wind was bothering him.

He'd reassembled half the sparrow when Lethia approached, also wrapped in an extra blanket. She stood watching him in silence, inscrutable. Her hair was swept to one side by the wind, framing her face in a way that Ferral found annoyingly attractive. He disliked her so much, her looks seemed an extra affront. The longer she stood there without speaking, the more he was certain she was judging him. Finally, he looked up. "What?"

"I didn't know you had a sparrow," she said.

"Yes, well, the landing trashed it."

"And you're fixing it."

He glared at her over his shoulder. "Got a problem with that?"

She shook her head and continued to stand there, watching.

Ferral tightened a bolt. "This might go faster if you helped."

"Tell me what to do." She knelt beside him.

"Hold this bar in place."

Lethia followed his instructions without comment. Ferral's repairs went much faster with the extra pair of hands, and this annoyed him, too. He wanted her to pick a fight so he could vent his frustration on her. Her silent compliance with his instructions meant he had to treat her with civility, which wasn't what he wanted. He didn't know what he wanted.

"So," he said to break the silence, "that Vanguard base hasn't responded. We're going to investigate it anyway. If it's abandoned, we're heading south to a Cabal base to steal a ship."

Lethia nodded.

"No objections?" Ferral said, glaring. "No arguments about Guardians and Light knows what else?"

Lethia fixed her blue-green eyes on him. "We're stranded on Mars with almost no supplies. I don't even know how to use a gun. If you've got a plan to save our lives, I'm fine with it."

This response caught Ferral off-balance. Not only was she willing to work with him, but she didn't know how to use firearms? Guns were so deeply ingrained in all Guardian training that Ferral took them for granted.

"Burning Light," he muttered. "I'd better teach you basic gun safety before we leave. I have a rifle, a sidearm, and the grenade launcher. You already used that."

"It wasn't hard," Lethia said. "Except for the kickback."

"Right," Ferral said. "I don't have a lot of extra ammo, so we'll have to dry fire for practice."

Lethia nodded and held the sparrow's handlebars in place. As Ferral fiddled with a pair of snapped wires, she said, "You're remarkably good with machines."

"I had years of training," Ferral said, then caught himself. "Before I died. My hands just ... know what to do."

"That's right," she said. "You're a Dasa, you said?"

"That's right." Ferral made a face, as if he'd tasted a green pomefig.

Lethia studied his face. "You're one of the sons, aren't you? The one who died years ago."

Ferral nodded. "How do you know?"

"The Dasa clan are always in the gossip magazines. They run everything in Reefedge City, and there were a couple of high-profile marriages to Dreaming City money. Were you married?"

"No, thank the Traveler," Ferral said. "I was covert intelligence under Uldren."

Lethia nodded slowly. "That makes sense. Nobody talked about you much. What did they do when you came back as a Guardian?"

Ferral's smile was more of a grimace. "They refused to have anything to do with me. Said I'm dead to them. Some servants explained that since I'm the eldest, my presence threatens my brothers's holdings. It's better for everyone if I just ... go away."

He looked up to find Lethia studying him closely. "What? Never seen an undead celebrity before?"

"You look like a Dasa," she said. "The structure of your face. But you're ... not like them." She looked away and bit her lip.

Ferral savagely bolted two bars together. "Disinherited? Disowned?"

"You have feelings," Lethia said. "The Dasa clan are known for being emotionless blocks of ice. When Lady Dasa died, the funeral was immediately followed by a business meeting where her husband dispersed her shares. Nobody mourned - at least, not where anybody saw."

Ferral rocked back on his heels and stared at Lethia a long moment. Then he sat in the sand and gazed at the horizon.

Lethia realized her mistake far too late. She covered her mouth. "I'm so sorry! She was your mother."

Ferral said nothing for a long moment. He opened both hands and looked at them. "I don't remember her. But I should. And nobody mourned her." He pressed a fist to his forehead. "I never should have gone back. I was better off not knowing anything."

Lethia stood there, awkwardly supporting the bike, the wind whipping the blanket around her like a robe. "I'm sorry." A moment later, she added, "But you see what I mean. You're far nicer than any of your family. Maybe it's being a Guardian. I saw how you care for your ghost."

Ferral forced a grin. "You're saying that coming back to life as an immortal warrior had turned me soft?"

Lethia actually laughed. "Is that what it is? I thought maybe the Light did it."

She made a good point, he thought. Maybe the Light did have an influence on the personality of the people it chose. Banner had been a constant, positive influence since Ferral's resurrection decades ago.

"Maybe so," Ferral said. "Has it had any effect on you?"

Lethia's smile faded. Her attention seemed to turn inward. "Maybe. I don't know."

"You're not as ... uptight ... as you were yesterday."

Lethia smiled a little. "I hadn't been in a ship crash, then. And I'd never met a Guardian before. All I knew were the stories."

Ferral climbed back to his knees and resumed working on the wiring. "Well, were they true?"

He glanced up to find her studying him. "I don't know yet," she said. "You're much more ... alive than I expected. Your ghost, too. I didn't think it was possible to become attached to a robot."

"It's important to care for your ghost," Ferral said. "He's all that stands between you and a second death. Plus ... ghosts are adorable."

Lethia looked away.

Ferral moved on to fixing another set of wires. Her silence regarding her ghost bothered him. Didn't she understand how important he was? Maybe they weren't getting along. Sometimes it took a while for a pair to adjust to each other.

Maybe her attitude this whole time had been less about Ferral and more about her ghost. It made her hurtful remarks the day before feel less personal.

Ferral clamped the last two bars together and stood up, tossing his tools back in their box. "Let's see if she'll hold together." He mounted the sparrow and worked the starter. The engine coughed, then purred to life. The battery sat at full charge, and the solar panel on the back would top it off while stopped.

Ferral bounced up and down, testing the repairs he'd made to the frame. The sparrow creaked, but stayed in one piece.

"Get on, I need more weight."

Lethia hesitated, then climbed on the seat behind him. The sparrow sagged a little, but the repairs held. Ferral opened the throttle and drove in a wide semicircle around the wreck, swerving to avoid boulders. Lethia hung on to his belt and said nothing.

As he coasted back to the wreck, Lethia jumped off. "I kept waiting for it to fall apart."

"So far, so good," Ferral said. "I'm going to tighten up the splints. Start packing our supplies. We'll see if she holds up to a full load."

As it turned out, the sparrow did, although not without a lot of ominous creaking. The two Guardians set out a little before noon and followed the foot of the mountain range westward. Ferral refused to look back at his wrecked ship. He'd probably return with a salvage barge later, anyway.

They covered the eight miles to the Vanguard base in less than an hour. As they rounded the base of a hill, they first saw the communications tower on the roof of a low concrete building. It was intact, but the radar dish wasn't rotating. There were no ships on the airstrip.

The base was surrounded by a chain link fence topped with barbed wire. The front gate stood open. No guards. Nothing moved inside.

"Not good," Ferral muttered. He turned the sparrow to sit with its nose aimed outward before dismounting.

"About that gun safety training," Lethia said. "We didn't do it." She stepped off the sparrow and picked up a rock.

"I'll go first, then." Ferral lifted his rifle from its strap across his back and cautiously stepped through the open gate. Lethia followed close behind.


	7. Voidwalker

The nearest building was connected to the communications tower. The metal door swung open at Ferral's touch, not even locked. It was completely dark inside. He gestured and his ghost appeared, igniting his headlight. The light illuminated tables lying on their sides, the floor littered with broken computers and communications equipment.

Ferral took two steps. Something crunched underfoot. He looked down, Banner's headlight following his gaze.

He'd just trodden on the shattered remains of a dead ghost. His heart lurched. "That's bad."

Banner flew down and scanned the remains. "It's too damaged - I can't access the data to find out what happened." He returned to Ferral's shoulder. "Did the Guardian make it out?"

Ferral ventured a few steps further. Banner's light illuminated a huge smear of blood on the wall. "Probably not."

Lethia followed behind them in silence, her eyes glowing brightly with alarm. Light raced beneath her skin.

Ferral moved deeper into the building. "Hello?" he called. "Is anyone still here? We're Guardians."

In a side room they found a dead Guardian. A warlock, by the robes, he lay in the middle of the room, still clutching a bloodstained auto rifle.

Ferral moved closer to examine the body, while Lethia took one look and waited in the hall, hands over her mouth.

The warlock had sustained four bullet wounds to the torso, but the cause of death was a knife embedded in his skull.

Banner scanned the handle. "Hive chitin."

"How could the Hive kill Guardians like this?" Ferral said, trying to keep his voice steady despite his rising anger. "We're trained to destroy them. We do it all the time. How did this happen?"

"Ferral," came Lethia's voice from outside the door. "You might want to look at this."

She was staring into the next room down the hall, gripping her rock as if prepared to bludgeon someone with it. Ferral moved up beside her.

The room's furniture had been broken and piled against the walls. In the middle of the floor was a huge crystal, four feet tall, burning with purple light that hurt Ferral's eyes. It was anchored with piles of the black, barnacle-like filth that the Hive spread wherever they went.

Lethia ran forward and hit the crystal with her rock.

The crystal shattered like glass. The purple light flashed and went out, smoke rising from the remains. It smelled strangely of vanilla.

"What did you do?" Ferral exclaimed, backing out of the room.

Lethia followed him, shivering. "It was evil. I can't ... really explain how I knew."

The warlock thing again. Ferral didn't question it, but he was beginning to be very curious about what kind of warlock she'd be, once she had proper training.

They found two more dead Guardians, each with a dead ghost. The last ghost was intact enough that Banner read its memories.

"This doesn't make sense," Banner muttered. "According to this ghost, they were attacked by Cabal."

"Cabal?" Ferral said. "There's Hive crap everywhere. Maybe the Hive showed up later?"

"Maybe," Banner said doubtfully. "But this ghost was killed by a Cabal gladiator with one of those cleavers they use."

"Can we leave? Please?" Lethia begged. She was hugging herself again, constantly looking over her shoulders. "I can't stand the way this place feels. It's dragging at me."

Now that she mentioned it, Ferral knew what she meant. His own Light wavered inside him, while his other senses told him they were being watched.

"Yes, let's leave," he agreed.

They stepped outside and found a Taken wizard waiting for them.

It had once been Hive - a humanoid creature with three eyes and a tough chitin body. Wizards floated off the ground using their so-called magic, cast spells that imprisoned and tortured, and threw bolts of energy that wrecked Guardians. But this one had been consumed by Darkness, turning it into a black shape with burning white edges. It made a tearing, screeching sound that hurt their ears, and flung searing energy bolts.

Ferral pushed Lethia back inside the building and caught a bolt in the leg. It burned through the armored plating that protected his shin. Cursing in pain, he crouched in the doorway and fired at the wizard. His bullets sparked off a bubble shield that encircled it.

Banner disappeared and healed him from phase. Lethia huddled against the wall, a fist pressed to her mouth to hold back her own cry of terror.

Ferral summoned a grenade made of Light and hurled it. It struck the wizard's shield and detonated, blasting away the shield and punching a hole in the wizard, too. It screamed and hurled white fire at Ferral's face. He dodged back inside the doorway as the fire blackened the concrete wall.

"Incoming," Banner said suddenly.

Black portals peeled open in the walls and Taken crawled out, screaming as they came.

Lethia screamed, too. Ferral grabbed her and they ran for the open gate, dodging around black patches of emptiness on the ground. The wizard had stopped attacking and floated with both arms upraised, summoning its minions.

The Guardians reached the sparrow, leaped on, and shot into the desert, leaving the overrun base behind. Lethia clung to Ferral, half-panting, half-sobbing.

Ferral was shaken, himself. They'd found evidence of Hive and Cabal, then been attacked by Taken. What was going on? Three Guardians had been killed, but surely there had been others. Where had they gone?

They were far out in the desert before Ferral slowed. He stopped the sparrow in the shelter of a rock outcropping and turned to Lethia. "Are you all right?"

Her eyelashes were wet with tears, and she hunched her shoulders, as if trying to hide. "It was my fault. I broke the crystal and told them where we were."

Ferral wanted to put his arms around her, but didn't know how she'd take it. Reefborn Awoken rarely demonstrated affection.

"They'd have found us anyway," he assured her. "They track us by our Light."

She met his eyes. "Then they'll follow us wherever we go. I don't want to be Taken!"

Her ghost, Niki, phased into being beside her. "They can't take Guardians, remember? I saved you."

"I didn't ask you!" Lethia exclaimed. She backhanded the ghost in the eye. Niki flipped over in midair and vanished. "I didn't want to be a Guardian, you idiot ghost!"

Ferral's temper flared. "You hit your own ghost? What's the matter with you?"

Lethia jumped off the sparrow. "I'm sick of monsters and Guardians and ghosts! Just leave me alone!" She stomped off a little way and sat down with her back to a boulder, drawing in her knees and wrapping her arms around her head.

Ferral ignited his sparrow's engine, squeezed the throttle, and shot away into the desert, leaving her behind. He was scared and disgusted and angry - and didn't trust himself not to simply empty a magazine into Lethia's ignorant skull.

* * *

Lethia hadn't hit Niki hard enough to hurt him. But the implications of the blow crushed his heart. Guardians didn't treat their ghosts that way. She didn't want him.

Niki hid in phase, humiliated and sad. He watched as Lethia ran off, and watched as Ferral abandoned them.

Niki floated in place, hurting. His Guardian rejected him. Maybe this was why most ghosts chose their Guardians from among the dead. They awoke without memories, making a fresh start, and quickly bonded to their ghost during the first few days.

But Lethia had been alive and swamped in trauma when he found her. She hadn't even noticed when she became a Guardian. Her memories of life before she became a Guardian had made her despise Niki. There had been no bonding.

Niki flew in a helpless circle. He'd chosen poorly, and he was stuck with the consequences. There was no way to unbond from a Guardian. He could fly away and leave her, but he'd be forever conscious of her spark, its location and condition.

For better or worse, she was his Guardian. He'd chosen her, and by the Light, he would do his duty by her, even if they never exchanged another word. He'd remain invisible, healing and resurrecting from phase. The idea of living years and years without a relationship with his Guardian sickened him - Niki craved companionship and conversation. But Lethia didn't want him. So he'd try to make it easy for her to forget him.

Invisible, he crept to where Lethia huddled against a boulder. He took his place at her shoulder and resigned himself to silence and loneliness.

* * *

Lethia watched Ferral shrink into the distance until he vanished over the horizon.

Ferral was gone. Her ghost hadn't reappeared since she'd hit him. Lethia was vastly alone in the emptiness of the Martian desert.

In a way, she welcomed it. When she had broken that crystal, its energy had flooded her, alien and yet empowering. It felt similar to when she had gathered the power to raise Ferral's ghost - right and natural. But it had come from a Hive crystal.

Maybe the Taken were right to track her. Something was wrong. She wasn't a real Guardian. Guardians had powers of the Light. She was defective, somehow. She should have nothing in common with evil Hive magic, and yet the power from that crystal still hummed within her.

Could she get rid of it? Burn it off, somehow? She rose to her feet, drawing deep breaths. The power built within her, dark and tainted with death. She gathered up every scrap, rolled it into a ball, and threw it at the ground.

A huge purple ball of energy exploded from her fingertips. She hadn't expected it to actually manifest that way. For a split second, she watched the energy leave her. Then the ball hit the ground and exploded.

The concussion knocked Lethia backward. She hit the boulder and her spine cracked. Purple fire burned her face and arms. Winded, unable to make a sound despite the pain, she slumped to the ground.

As the dust and smoke cleared, Niki appeared. He silently played his healing beam over her, mending the burns and her damaged back. Then he vanished again.

"Niki," Lethia said, sitting up. "What happened just now?"

He didn't answer.

"Niki, come on," Lethia begged. "Look, I'm sorry I hit you. I shouldn't have done that."

No response. But she did feel sadness coming from outside herself. Was it possible to feel a ghost's feelings? They were robots, weren't they?

She climbed to her feet and stared at the crater she had blasted in the ground. Hive energy? Or her own? Maybe being an Awoken had corrupted her contact with the Light, mixing it with Darkness. Maybe she really was Taken, no matter what her ghost said.

As she stood there, confused and conflicted, a low rumble reached her ears. An engine, but not a sparrow. She climbed a rock to look around.

A Cabal drop ship was flying low over the desert. It was about thirty feet long, shaped like a tuning fork, with two arms built into a central engine. It was following the exact course Ferral had taken on his sparrow. As it drew even with Lethia, it slowed to hover in midair, it's engines shaking the ground beneath her feet. Then the rear hatch opened, and eight Cabal legionnaires dropped to the ground. They rushed to take cover behind various rocks, and fired at Lethia. Bullets zinged past her face and one hit her in the chest.

It had happened so fast that it hadn't occurred to her to hide. Why were the aliens after her? She was nothing special. Then the bullet hit her, piercing her heart. As her body crumpled and pain exploded inside her, she thought in amazement, "They are after me! But why? Am I a threat?"

Niki healed her again, easing the pain, restarting her heart as he mended it. With the healing came another sense of his feelings - sadness and despair.

"Niki," Lethia exclaimed. "What's happening? Talk to me!"

The ghost gave her a mournful look and vanished.

"Niki!" Lethia yelled. But there was no time to figure out why he'd gone silent. A legionnaire leaped up on a nearby rock, aiming his machine gun at her. He was two feet taller than her and three times as wide. The spike on his helmet made him look like a rhinoceros in armor.

Lethia was about to be shot again. She had no weapons or armor. Her ghost would continue to heal and resurrect her, never allowing her to die. She'd suffer and suffer and suffer.

Terrified of this, Lethia doubled her fists, ran straight at the alien, and punched his helmet.

She wasn't particularly strong, especially not compared to one of the Cabal. He barely felt the blow. But as her fist made contact, in that split second, Lethia ripped energy out of the alien's body.

The alien reeled backward. Lethia backed away, staring at her hand. She had just sucked power out of that alien like some kind of vampire. And already she felt it inside her, ready to be rolled up and hurled as another bomb.

The alien regrouped and fired at her. Lethia dove behind a boulder. When the legionnaire stopped shooting, she dashed out of hiding, ran at the alien, and grabbed the arm holding his gun.

The alien tried to throw her off, but her touch drained the strength from his muscles. Lethia pulled every ounce of vitality from him until the alien pitched forward and hit the ground, dead.

"I stole his life energy," she said aloud. Power raced inside her - the power of death. "I'm a monster." She ran toward the other aliens, exhilarated and yet moving through a miasma of horror. "Niki, you've made me into a monster!"

She hurled her energy bomb into the middle of the aliens, killing two and sending the rest scrambling for cover. Lethia ran after them, hunting, draining life with a touch. She drained another alien and used his energy to bomb the hiding place of the others. As they fell, wounded, she finished them off by taking their energy. Then she threw another bomb at their ship.

The purple sphere slammed into the ship, tearing off the left fork. The ship lurched in midair, off balance, then spun in a circle and crashed into the ground, engines first.

Lethia watched the destruction, tears pouring down her face. "Niki, what have I done?"

No answer.

She sank to the ground and curled up, moaning. She'd just destroyed a squadron of alien soldiers and their ship, but she'd done it by stealing their life force. What Guardian did that? How did such a power have anything to do with the Light? It must have been that Hive crystal. She was corrupt now. Some kind of Hive Guardian. No wonder her ghost wouldn't speak to her.

"Niki, I'm sorry," she whispered. "I shouldn't have touched the crystal. It made me into this. You should get away while you still can. I'm turning into a Hive wizard or something. I threw magic just like they do. I'm not a Guardian. I don't know what I am." She buried her face in her arms.

"Guardian ..." Niki's voice said nearby. He sounded pained.

She lifted her head. The ghost floated a few feet away, his shell bent from the ship wreck, his eye somehow so sad.

"Get away, quick," Lethia told him, sitting up and folding her arms, keeping her hands tucked against her. "If I touch you, I might kill you. I can't control it."

"You're not a monster," he told her. "You're a warlock. Specifically, a Voidwalker."

"What does that mean?" Lethia said, wiping her eyes with one elbow. "Guardians can rip the life out of people?"

"Hush," Niki said. "I know you hate me, but listen for one minute, all right?"

He thought she hated him? Lethia gulped.

Niki spoke in a resigned way. "All living things have energy inside them. Voidwalkers tap into that energy and use it to fight. It's neither good nor evil, any more than using electricity or fire. The Hive crystal was full of Void Light, and it energized you. You brought Banner back with Void Light. You're a Guardian, and you've tapped a certain aspect of your power. Now I'll ... I'll shut up and let you get on with your life." He vanished.

"Voidwalker," Lethia murmured, relieved. "There's a name for it. But ... I still feel like a monster. And I don't hate you, Niki."

No response.

Light, she had screwed up so badly. Ferral hated her. Niki thought she hated him. And she was a kind of Guardian that killed people by stealing their life energy.

Lethia climbed to her feet and began walking. She didn't care what direction, although subconsciously she traveled the same direction Ferral had gone. But she had to move. Get away from the bodies and wreckage she had created. Get away from Niki's hurt silence. Get away from this power inside her. Maybe if she died of exposure, Niki would leave her dead. It would serve her right.


	8. Rescue

Hours passed. The wreckage shrank in the distance behind her. She covered one mile, then two, then three. The sun swung overhead and descended toward the horizon. Her throat began to ache with thirst.

She would have been Taken if she hadn't become a Guardian. And becoming a Guardian had made her just as much of a monster, anyway. Despair enfolded her. She was trapped inside her own life as much as she was trapped on Mars with no hope of escape. She had ruined her relationship with her ghost, and had driven away the only other Guardian she knew. It had been so easy to be cruel. Now she was going to die of thirst over and over until Niki got sick of resurrecting her.

The sun touched the horizon. Lethia kept walking, even though her feet and legs were sore. Already it was growing cold, the evening wind picking up. She would freeze to death in a few hours. If she kept moving, maybe she could stay warm a little longer.

The sun slowly shrank and vanished. The air grew frigid. Lethia hugged herself and kept walking. Shame goaded her on and on. Maybe if she walked far enough, she'd leave it behind. It was illogical, but she kept moving. If she lost herself in the desert, she'd never have to drain the life out of anyone ever again.

It grew too dark to watch her footing on the rocky ground. She stumbled and fell. It felt so good to lie on the ground, to rest her tired feet and legs, that she stayed there. The cold sank into her, but it didn't hurt as bad as her joints. Lethia fell asleep.

"Guardian. Guardian, wake up."

She opened one eye. Niki hovered close to her face, his blue eye blindingly bright.

"You must get up, Guardian. Please."

Lethia slowly moved her limbs. She was numb with cold. How much time had passed? The stars had wheeled to a different position. She pushed herself to a sitting position and sat there, head hanging.

"Please, Guardian," Niki begged. "The Hive are sweeping the desert. They've flown by twice already. We have to move."

She struggled to her feet, fell over another rock, and lay still. "There's no point," she mumbled, her mouth so dry she could barely form words. "I kill anything I touch."

Niki flew back and forth in agitation, healing her. The ache left her legs, but she was still cold and thirsty. Slowly she climbed to her feet again. Niki shone his headlight at her feet, guiding her along.

Lethia was dazed with exhaustion and dehydration. When she looked up from the circle of light at her feet, spots swam before her eyes. Or were they the lights of passing ships? Knife-shaped fighters, like the ones she had fought in space. She lifted the grenade launcher and aimed it. But no, she'd forgotten the tether. She felt along her belt, slowing to a halt.

"What's wrong?" Niki said.

"The tether," Lethia mumbled. "I can't find it."

"Guardian," Niki said, voice trembling as if he was holding back a panic attack, "that was back before the ship crashed. Remember?"

Reality trickled back in. That was right - they were on Mars now. But why were the same knife ships cutting through the stars? She stood still, watching them.

Niki flew around her. "They're going to find us," he whimpered. "The Hive kill Guardians and ghosts. And my Guardian is sick. Please, Guardian ..."

Lethia was sitting down, although she didn't remember deciding to sit. "I don't hate you, Niki," she told him. "I'm sorry I said that." Had she said that? She must have, at one point, if he believed it. "I don't think you meant to turn me into a Voidwalker. It's my fault. I must have had this power in me all along. I'm just a ..." When had she stretched out among the rocks? They prodded her ribcage with distant pain. "I'm just a parasite now," she mumbled into the dirt. "Sucking ... power ... from ... others ..."

Niki made a sobbing sound nearby. Lethia thought she felt his grief, like an ache in her own heart. But that was crazy - he was only a little robot.

She drifted. She was walking through her tiny house in Reefedge City, looking for a book on her shelves. But she couldn't remember what it looked like. Frustrated, she began pulling books off the shelves and tossing them on the floor. Something was behind the books, something dark that gazed at her through clusters of green eyes.

Lethia startled awake. Green eyes surrounded her, studying her from out of the darkness. Hive.

"Gar-Gar-Gaurdian," Niki stuttered. Lethia spotted him in the claws of an alien she couldn't make out. All she could see was Niki's eye glowing through its gnarled fingers.

"Niki," she whispered.

"They're draining my Light," he said, his voice distorted and modulated. "I can't ... I can't ... Goodbye ... Guardian ..."

Heat boiled through Lethia's brain. All reason abandoned her - there was only the sight of Niki about to die in the dark. She lunged forward, grabbed the arm that held him, and tore the energy out of its owner.

Screams erupted around her. The hand released Niki, who staggered in midair. Lethia snatched him up and clutched him to her chest. But Lethia had Void Light burning inside her now, stolen from the alien. She wheeled and threw her bomb one-handed at the largest cluster of green eyes. The bomb exploded in a violent flash of purple, illuminating at least fifty Hive thralls clustered around her. The bomb sent bodies flying. Then darkness fell, and they swarmed her.

Twice more she hurled her bomb into their midst. Twice more they attacked, claws and teeth tearing at her. She finally fell beneath them, too weakened and exhausted to keep fighting.

She didn't hear the aliens shriek in rage, didn't hear the whisper of knives finding their mark in the vitals of each one. She didn't even hear when silence fell, every alien dead.

But when Ferral knelt and gently rolled her over, she opened her eyes. Her torn, bloodied hand still clutched Niki to her chest. He blinked up into Banner's spotlight.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Ferral exclaimed. His eyes glowed a worried yellow-white against the darkness.

"Don't touch me," Lethia said. "I'm a Voidwalker." Her eyelids slid closed, the blue-green glow fading. Her hand fell away from Niki.

Niki slowly floated into the air, trembling. "Oh, she's dying. What a horrible feeling. Guardian, hold on." He opened his shell, expanding into a sphere of Light.

Nearby, Banner added his own healing beam, boosting his weary brother ghost's power. Together they healed Lethia's torn back, the claw and tooth marks the thralls had inflicted on her. Then they pulled her back from the edge of death, where she had been teetering.

Lethia opened her eyes again and sat up. She tucked her hands under her arms and sat with her head bowed.

"What happened?" Ferral demanded. "Why are you way out here?"

"You left us," Niki said accusingly. "My Guardian is dying of thirst."

"I came back after a few hours," said Ferral sulkily. "I thought some time alone might do her good. Instead, I find a crashed warship and a squad of dead Cabal. I've been trying to find you ever since. I only got lucky when her void bombs went off. Like shooting off fireworks."

Lethia said nothing and didn't move.

Niki looked at her, then back at Ferral, his eye flickering a little. "She's running from her power."

Ferral blinked at the ghost, then at Lethia. "What? Why?"

"Because I suck the life out of living things," Lethia murmured. "I'm a monster. Don't touch me. I might do it to you."

Ferral nodded in comprehension. "Oh. Right. Voidwalker. Well, I'm a Nightstalker Hunter, if that makes you feel any better. I use Void Light, too."

Lethia's head jerked up. She stared at him, wide-eyed. "You can - how -" Her voice cracked and she coughed, a dry, painful cough.

"I've got water on the sparrow," Ferral said, holding out a hand. "Come on, let me help you."

Lethia hesitated, looking at his hand. "But ... what if I hurt you?"

"I'm a Guardian," he said impatiently. "I'll live."

She slowly took his hand. His Light blazed through the contact, brighter and far more powerful than any alien she had touched. She could steal it so easily. Holding her breath, trying not to draw it in, she let him pull her to her feet and guide her over the rocky ground.

Focused on restraining her own vampiric power, she didn't notice Niki until she heard him hit a rock with a metallic plink. He lay on the ground a few feet behind her, his eye fuzzed with static. She released Ferral and staggered back to pick up her ghost. Niki didn't respond to her touch. He had Light, too, but not like Ferral's. She had the impression that Niki's Light was going out.

"One of the Hive aliens was draining his Light," she croaked, holding him out to Ferral. "Can we save him?"

All she could see of Ferral's face was his glowing yellow-white eyes. "Poor thing. But you're the one who revived Banner. I should be asking you."

Lethia wanted to argue that she didn't know how she had fixed Banner, that it had been intuition. But trying to talk only made her cough again.

Cradling her ghost, she made it to the sparrow somehow. Ferral made her sit on the ground and drink cup after cup of water. Slowly she revived, the awful confusion clearing from her brain.

"Niki," she whispered. "Don't die."

The static-laden eye flicked toward her face. He heard her, but was too weak to respond.

"Climb on the sparrow," Ferral told her, his voice uncharacteristically gentle. "I found us shelter for the night. Assuming I can find it again in the dark."

He put her in front of him, and drove with his arms around her to keep her from falling off. Lethia was thankful for his closeness and warmth. She kept one arm curled around Niki. As with Banner, she followed her intuition about him. And intuition told her that Niki needed warmth, the same as Banner had. His bent shell felt so cold.

Ferral guided the sparrow across the desert to a row of cliffs. Flowing water had once undercut the cliffs in many places, hollowing out a series of shallow caves. Ferral drove the sparrow into one of these caves, where he had already piled most of the gear they had brought with them. He spread out blankets for a bed, then offered Lethia a can of cold soup. She wearily ate half, but pushed it aside when it began sticking in her throat. She crawled into the blankets and curled herself around her ghost.

Ferral lay beside her in the blankets. After a while, he said, "I'm sorry for leaving you."

Lethia remembered the way they had parted. Fresh shame burned through her. "I deserved it. I've treated you abysmally. You and Niki both."

"Can't argue with that," Ferral said. "But I haven't been easy to live with, either."

Lethia lay there, feeling as if she had broken to pieces inside. So many things had changed so fast. The things she had believed as an Awoken had been proven superficial and false. She'd been turned into a Guardian and developed a power that terrified her. And she was stranded on Mars. The ghost she had blamed was slowly dying.

"No," she murmured, "you've treated me better than I deserved. After the way I treated you and Niki ... you should have left me to the Hive." She ran a finger around Niki's eye-lens, where he lay against her heart. He watched her, his eye still distorted with static.

"I couldn't do that," Ferral said. He heaved a sigh. "You saved my ghost, and by extension, me. I owe you for that, at least."

"I wish I understood Guardians better," Lethia said. "In the Reef, we're so busy with our own affairs, we categorize Guardians as an irritation and move on. I had no idea the extent of their power. And now ... here I am. One more monster with the power to kill."

"I've known some pretty monstrous Voidwalkers," Ferral admitted. "Guardians who really get off on the whole vampire thing. Then I've met some who only use it for healing. The best doctor in the Tower is a Voidwalker."

Lethia turned to look at him. "Seriously?"

"Seriously," Ferral replied. "Your problem right now is a lack of control. Once you learn that, you can use it to kill ... or heal. It's up to you."

Lethia returned her gaze to her ghost. She'd already healed one ghost - she could heal Niki, too. After all, he was a robot, right? It was just a matter of using Light to recharge him.

Inside her head, she thought to him, "What do you need in order to get well?"

"I need Light," came his voice through their bond. "And ... and ... oh, I'm ashamed to say it."

"What?" Maybe there were certain parts he needed.

"I need you to _like_ me," Niki said mournfully.

The words hit Lethia like a slap in the face. Maybe she really had been picking up feelings from him, and hadn't just been hallucinating. He needed her to like him? Ghosts had emotional needs? She took stock of how she had treated him and realized that she had been very cold, indeed.

"And I need you to _want_ me," Niki went on. "I tried to just ... leave you alone. Since you didn't want me at all. But I just ... Guardian, it's killing me with loneliness."

She clutched him a little tighter, remorse filling her. "I'm sorry ... I didn't know."

"I'm sorry I turned you into a Guardian," Niki burst out. "I should have asked, but there wasn't time. It was either bond at that second, or lose you to the Dark. I thought we could work things out afterward, but you shut me out." His voice became increasingly modulated, and yet tearful. "And oh, I'm sorry, sorry, sorry. Please forgive me. Don't hate me anymore."

His cry pierced her heart. This little robot, this tiny light who had chosen her, was begging for forgiveness and affection. Just like a human being. She'd vastly misunderstood the nature of ghosts, and had wronged him deeply with her scorn.

"I'm sorry, too," she thought, a lump growing in her throat. "And I do want you. I just didn't understand. Please don't die. Stay with me and be my ghost."

A little blue Light wept out of Niki's eye, trickled across the lens, and dripped off, where it vanished. "That means so much to me. I can ... I know how you can heal me. It'll be easier than Banner was."

"Tell me how."

"The power to steal Light works in the other direction. You can take your own Light and give it to someone else."

Lethia looked at her free hand. "But ... it works when I touch someone."

"Lay a hand on your heart," Niki said. "Your Light is there."

Lethia pressed a hand to her chest. She felt her own energy burning there, which was a very strange sensation. She plucked at her own Light and drew out a tiny glint. Unlike the purple Void Light, this was shimmering gold. She touched it to Niki's core.

The static cleared from his eye at once. He made a sound like a sigh. His shell segments loosened and drooped a little, letting Light shine from underneath. "That feels amazingly better. And it's warm. I've been so cold for so long."

Lethia tucked the blanket around him. "If you need more Light, let me know."

Niki's eye light flicked into a smile emote. "Thank you. For ... for wanting me."

"I want you enough to save you from the Hive," she thought. "Now rest. You've had a long day."

Ferral sat up and looked at the smiling ghost. "Oh, you fixed him. Good. You decide to be nice to him, for once?"

Lethia's face burned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You hit him. Guardians don't do that. At least, good Guardians don't."

Lethia looked down at the innocent blue eye watching her. Fresh shame joined her already extensive collection. "Yes. I've decided to be nice."

"They don't do well if you don't." Ferral lay back down, stiff and irritated. "I honestly thought you were going to just walk. Abandon your ghost. Head back to the Reef and pretend none of this ever happened."

The idea was tempting, but impossible. "I'm a Guardian now," Lethia said in despair. "Guardians are second class citizens, and they're not allowed into the Dreaming City. Besides, the Taken have probably killed everyone in Reefedge by now. There's nobody left to vouch for me."

"So we're in the same boat," Ferral said dryly. "Outcasts from our own kind. Bound to protect them anyway. Fun, isn't it?"

"Nobody likes you when you're sarcastic," Lethia snapped.

"You're one to talk," Ferral retorted. He mimicked her. "'I didn't know Guardians had souls'."

"I really didn't know!" Lethia snapped, propping herself up on one elbow to glare at him. "I've heard my whole life that Guardians are mindless undead puppeted by their ghosts."

Ferral laughed, shaking his head. "That explains so much. No wonder they hate us. They've gotten everything about us wrong." He put both arms behind his head. "But man, bring the Hive mothership in, and who does the Reef scream for? Those undead Guardians. Nice to know we're useful."

"Bitter, much?" Lethia snapped.

"Maybe," Ferral replied. "Being disowned does that to you. Then you come along and rub my face in it."

"I'm sorry, all right?" Lethia said. "This is new to me. I didn't ask for this life, and our people didn't ask to be Taken. But it happened. I'm still trying to cope."

"Sure, Miss Voidwalker," Ferral said. "So you cope by manipulating life energy."

Lethia's anger flashed into fury. "I can't help it! It just happened that way!"

"All Guardians choose to use the aspect of Light most compatible with them," Ferral said. "There's also solar and arc, but you took things straight to void."

Lethia sat up, eyes burning in the darkness, fists clenched. "If you don't shut up, I'll see how much Light I can tear out of you."

Ferral produced a shimmering purple knife out of nowhere. It floated above his palm. "Go ahead. You'll be dead before you can touch me."

They stared at each other for a tense moment, each waiting for the other to make a move.

Suddenly Ferral laughed, let his knife vanish, and lay back in the blanket. "You know, I don't even care. Go ahead, kill me."

Lethia sat there, taken aback.

"I've died before," Ferral said. "Banner resurrects me. I've even died to Voidwalkers in the Crucible. I'm not afraid of you."

"Dare I ask what the Crucible is?" Lethia snapped.

"Guardian training," Ferral replied. "And also our sport."

Lethia glared at his fire-like eyes in the darkness, which was all she could see of him. "You are the most arrogant, self-centered asshole I've had the displeasure to meet. I'm going to sleep, now."

She lay with her back to him and wrapped the blanket around herself, facing Niki again.

Ferral chuckled quietly. "You're not bad, yourself, princess."

Lethia fell asleep imagining all the ways she wanted to murder him.


	9. Amends

Ferral awoke before dawn the next morning with the odor of dust in his nose. The wind whistled outside, swirling into their shallow cave.

"Dust storm?" he thought to his ghost.

"Dust storm," Banner confirmed. "It's a big one, too."

Ferral lay there and thought about this. The cave entrance was a slightly lighter shade of gray in the darkness. Lethia slept beside him, her breathing deep and even, buried in blankets. It was cold, but not as cold as the previous night.

When he had left Lethia the day before, Ferral had driven south in search of the Cabal base Banner had detected. He found it, all right. Golden Age ruins rose out of the sand: old skyscrapers, smaller buildings with only the supports still standing, piles of machinery rusted beyond recognition. The aliens had set up housekeeping in the ruins. He hadn't been able to get close because of their guards, but he'd seen their ships taking off and landing. Plenty of options for a hijack.

A dust storm would reduce visibility, hiding the Guardians from the watchful aliens. He'd have to make more detailed plans when he'd had a better chance to study the layout of the ruins.

"Ban," he thought, "something's been bothering me."

"What is it?" his ghost replied.

"That Cabal warship Lethia destroyed. How did it find her?"

Banner was silent a moment. "Accidental scan?"

"Would they have picked up my mayday as we crashed?"

"It was broadcast on all frequencies, so ... yes." Banner added hesitantly, "Do you think they were tracking us?"

"It's not outside the realm of possibility," Ferral thought. "And Lethia annihilated them. Damn, she's not even trained yet. Do you know how dangerous she is? A Voidwalker with no control?"

"She can direct it, I think," Banner said. "She's learning quickly. But yes ... one slip and she could kill us all."

Ferral looked at the featureless lump beside him. She may drive him nuts, but it had hurt him unexpectedly to pull the Hive thralls off her, only to find her protecting her ghost to the end. After she had hit her own ghost, he hadn't expected that. Maybe she wasn't as big of a waste of Light as he first thought.

Still, he was glad she hadn't actually tried to kill him. While dying was always unpleasant, dying to a Voidwalker was particularly painful, especially when he didn't completely die. More than that, he was glad to see that she wasn't a murderer. It was one thing to kill enemies who had attacked first, or to kill opponents in the Crucible, where it was expected. It was quite another to kill a companion in cold blood.

Slowly the light outside brightened to a dusky brown. The wind continued to gust, driving ripples and whirlwinds of dust before it. Ferral watched it, head on one arm, thinking about the ruins, how they might hijack a ship, and whether to take it to Meridian Bay, or run for Earth.

Lethia stirred and pushed back the blankets, rubbing her eyes. "My mouth is full of sand."

"Dust storm," Ferral replied. "Everything will be full of sand by the end of the day."

He watched as she lifted her ghost out from under the blankets, cupped him in her hands, and kissed his eye lens. Niki made a soft, electronic trilling sound, and his eye blushed pink.

"Young Guardians," Banner said privately to Ferral. "Always catching us ghosts off guard."

"I'm glad she finally decided to appreciate him," Ferral thought. "I can't stand it when Guardians mistreat their ghosts. Makes me crazy."

Lethia released Niki to float into the air, got up, and poured herself a drink of water. "What's the plan?" she asked Ferral.

He got up, too, and began to fold blankets. "Sneak into a Cabal base. Steal a ship. If it has a jump drive, we'll head to Earth. If not, then Meridian Bay. Either way, we have to report that lost Vanguard base."

Lethia watched him work, expressionless. After a moment, she said, "That still bothers me. We found evidence of Cabal, Hive, and Taken. But what really happened? Surely it wasn't all three at once."

"We may never know," Ferral said. "For myself, I think the Cabal attacked first, and the Hive came later. The Taken ... I don't know about them. They might have only been after us."

"Or the broken crystal attracted them," Lethia muttered. "It filled me with Void Light in the first place. It's why I was so scared."

Ferral gave her a sharp look. "You drew Light from a Hive crystal?"

She opened both hands. "Apparently I can draw it from anywhere."

No wonder she thought she was a monster. "Ban?" Ferral thought. "I thought Light came from the Traveler."

"It does," Banner replied in his head. "But it can be found in living things, too. That crystal contained Light from ..." He hesitated. "... something they killed."

Neither Banner or Ferral thought the word 'Guardians', but the implication was there.

Lethia watched him. "I know you're talking to your ghost about me. Do I even want to know?"

"The crystal," Ferral said, standing up with his arms full of blankets. "The Light in it was from ... something that had died."

Her eyes widened. "You mean those dead Guardians?"

Ferral didn't want to answer that. He packed the blankets into one of his sparrow's baggage compartments, instead. When he turned around, Lethia had curled into a ball on the floor with her fingers digging into her hair.

"You all right?" he said, because he had no idea what else to say. She was obviously not all right.

"Vile," she whispered. "I hate this power."

"When we get back to the Tower," Ferral said, "the Warlock Vanguard can teach you to switch disciplines."

"That doesn't help me now," she said, rocking back and forth. "Ice and Darkness. This is why I ran."

Ferral stood there awkwardly. "Banner," he thought, "what do I _say_?"

"Give her a hug, moron," his ghost replied.

"But she's Reefborn! They don't like that."

"Then _ask_."

Ferral cleared his throat. "Would you ... would you be all right if ... would you like a hug?"

Lethia looked up at him, her blue-green eyes filled with tears. Then she nodded.

Ferral sat on the floor beside her and put his arms around her. She folded her hands in her lap and leaned against him, closing her eyes.

Ferral wasn't exactly the touchy-feely type, himself, despite being Earthborn. He hadn't hugged anyone ... probably ever. Holding another person - especially a girl - was an entirely new experience. He sat perfectly still, embarrassed and terrified.

After a moment, Lethia sat up and pulled away, her blue skin blushing a faint magenta. "Thank you."

He nodded, again, not knowing what to say. This was a far cry from their little argument the night before.

Lethia searched his face. "Why are you being nice to me?"

Ferral shrugged. "You needed a hug."

She folded her arms. "I wanted to _kill_ you last night. And this morning, you're so ... mellow."

He climbed to his feet and busied himself packing the sparrow. "You want to know why?"

"I did ask."

He grinned over his shoulder. "You made up with your ghost."

She blinked. "Why should that matter?"

"Because to a Guardian, ghosts are everything." He held out one hand, summoning poor, shell-less Banner, who floated trustingly above his palm. "Guardians judge each other by their ghosts. We pamper them, keep them polished and happy. Show me a Guardian with a rusty ghost, I'll show you a renegade on a spiral into Darkness."

Lethia gave Niki's bent shell a guilty look.

"When I fought the Hive off you," Ferral went on, "and you'd gone down defending your ghost ... Well. You showed me right then that you'll be a fine Guardian."

"So why did you snarl at me last night?" she snapped.

Ferral locked a cargo compartment and faced her, leaning against the sparrow. "Because I needed to understand some things. And because you've treated me like dirt since we met."

Lethia opened her mouth, closed it, and bowed her head.

Ferral didn't want to beat her over the head with it - not like last night. Funny, he didn't want to fight with her at all. He put on his helmet and began pushing the sparrow out of the cave, into the dust storm.

Lethia followed, winding a strip of cloth around her head to protect her face. She had no proper gear, and her clothing had huge tears in it from the Hive attack. Ferral shook his head. Nothing he could do about that now. Getting home was even more important.

He mounted the sparrow, and Lethia climbed on behind him. "For the record," she said softly, "I'm sorry I've treated you like dirt. We're both Awoken, and we're both Guardians."

"Apology accepted," he said, starting the engine. And he was surprised to find that it really did make him feel better.

* * *

Lethia was tired of being constantly ashamed. But despite Ferral's harsh words, he seemed gentler today, more willing to make up. Maybe even be friends.

As they rode along through the dusty wind, her eyes began to stream from the grime filling them. She kept them closed as much as possible. This gave her plenty of time to think.

"Niki," she thought, "any advice about all this?"

"About being a warlock?" he asked. "Or Ferral?"

"All of the above."

Niki chuckled. His mood had vastly improved since she had restored him, and her kiss that morning had meant worlds to him.

"Treat him the way you want to be treated, Guardian. It's not hard."

How did she want to be treated? With respect and dignity. Giving that same respect and dignity to Ferral was much harder, for some reason. A little voice at the back of her mind still whispered that he was only one of the Risen, a second-class being. "Guardians don't have feelings," it chanted. "They're not capable of rational thought. They're the Traveler's meat puppets."

Lethia forced herself to remember Ferral's face as he hunted for Banner's core in the ship's wreckage. He'd been devastated, the hole in his heart matching the emptiness in his eyes. Guardians had feelings, all right. Ferral had been a basket case for most of their brief acquaintance. That morning had been the first time she'd seen him close to normal. Of course, a few hot meals and a bath wouldn't hurt him, either.

"How long until we reach the Cabal base?" she called against the wind and sparrow noise.

"Another hour, maybe two," Ferral called back. "Visibility is terrible. I can't travel very fast or we'll get lost."

The horizon had vanished behind a reddish-brown curtain of dust. The sun was a red orb. Lethia could only see the rocky desert up to about fifty feet away-then it faded into the blowing dust.

"Niki," she thought, "could you help navigate?"

"Yes!" he said, pathetically eager to please her. "The dust doesn't affect my scans too much. I'll see if Banner would like help. He's the one navigating." After a few minutes, Niki reported, "Banner has an app for tracking the synthetic magnetic field. He's sending it to me, but it may take a while."

"Thanks, Niki." Lethia tried to keep her response kind. "I was thinking you'd track landmarks or something, not the whole magnetic field."

"It's no problem!" he exclaimed. "I want to do a good job."

He didn't actually say, _So you'll like me_ , but Lethia heard it in his voice. A lump formed in her throat. How had she managed to damage him so much after only being a Guardian three days? Poor Niki. She owed him a lot more kisses.

The storm grew worse. Clouds of dust often swept over them that blotted out the world beyond the sparrow's nose. Ferral had to stop the sparrow and wait until it cleared a little. Their clothing and gear developed a brown coating. Lethia had to shake off her face cloth over and over.

"Free camouflage," Ferral remarked.

Lethia squinted at the back of his head. So much grit had gotten in her eyes that she had muddy tracks down her cheeks, and she could barely see. "This is awful, and you're happy about it?"

"The aliens won't be out in this, either," he told her. "They won't see us coming. We can walk right in and grab a ship."

Lethia wished she had his confidence. The longer they spent in the wind and sand, the more miserable she became.

After a while, Niki said in her head, "All right, the navigation app is loaded. Looks like we're headed for the ruins where the Cabal are. Banner is guiding Ferral. Good thing, too, because visual navigation is really bad right now."

"Can you see the layout of the ruins?" Lethia thought. "Maybe plan an attack?"

"Not super clearly," Niki replied. "I mean, I can see the general layout of the place. Looks like the airfield is actually an old sports field the aliens converted. I can see the goal posts."

"From the Golden Age?" Lethia thought incredulously.

"Sure!" Niki said. "Sports were a big deal. I think this particular field was for a game called soccer." He launched into a detailed explanation of the rules of the game. Lethia grew bored in the first few minutes, but didn't have the heart to tell him so. Niki so wanted to please her.

He didn't stop talking until Ferral halted the sparrow and said, "This is it."

Lethia forced her muddy eyes open. Through the haze of dust, she dimly made out the vertical lines of distant buildings.

"Have your ghost scan the layout," Ferral said. "We're going to use the sparrow to make a run for the airfield. But the ghosts will know where to go, and I won't."

"What if we get ambushed?" Lethia said.

Ferral patted the rifle slung over his shoulder. "I'll deal with them. Feel free to Voidwalker enemies if they get too close."

Ugh, he actually wanted her to drain the life out of people. It was an effective weapon, but it didn't mean she had to like it.

"I'm suggesting a route to Banner," Niki told her. "Looks like the route the Cabal supply craft use. Nice and wide. Couple of checkpoints, though. I can't tell how high the barricades are. We might have to travel on foot half the way."

"I could make it if I could see," Lethia thought.

Niki appeared in a spiral of blue particles. "Oh, Guardian, your poor eyes," he said. He played a healing beam across her face. The itching and burning faded from her eyes. She used her shirt to wipe the mud off her face, but her shirt was so grimy, it probably made it worse. But at least she could see again.

She gave Niki a brave smile. "Thanks. That's better."

His eye changed to a smile emote, and he twirled his shell happily. Then he vanished again and returned to speaking in her head. "Anyway, I think Ferral's getting ready to make his run. Get ready."

"Here's the plan," Ferral said, looking back at Lethia. "Cabal checkpoints are usually a couple of concrete posts with a gate pole in between. They're taller than we are, so they put their gates higher than we do. There should be room for the sparrow to squeeze underneath, if I lower the repulsors. We'll have to lie as flat as we can."

They practiced flattening themselves to the sparrow's frame. Ferral refused to move until he was satisfied that Lethia could get her head low enough.

"All right," he said at last. "Here goes nothing."


	10. Friendly fire

Lethia ducked low beside Ferral's back and tightened her grip on his belt. He squeezed the throttle, and the sparrow shot down the hill toward the ruined buildings.

Things passed in a blur - walls, old machinery, Cabal war tanks and artillery, and a few aliens, themselves, who roared and gestured. Lethia had the impression of traveling down a canyon, with the structures creating walls on either side.

"First checkpoint," Niki said in her head.

He barely said the words and they were through, flashing beneath the gate and leaving the guards bellowing behind them.

"They're on the alert, now," Niki said, sounding worried. "I hope we can make it."

The buildings parted up ahead. All they could see was a vague curtain of blowing dust.

"Almost to the airfield," Niki said. "Stay down and - "

Something crashed into the sparrow from above, landing squarely on both Guardians. The sparrow, already delicate from being splinted together, cracked into pieces that spun off in various directions. Lethia hit the ground face-first, crushed under the huge boot of a Cabal centurion. Impact. Pain. The taste of sand and blood. A cracking sound.

Then - nothing but deep, quiet darkness.

* * *

Ferral slowly crept back to consciousness. Banner's resurrection Light filled his body, melting away the pain of many serious wounds. A groan escaped him.

"Ferral," Banner whispered. "I'm ... I'm so sorry. We're in a bad way."

Ferral opened his eyes, squinting and blinking. He and Lethia lay against the wall a few feet apart in a small, concrete cell. Both of them were chained to the wall and floor with short chains that held them motionless. Ferral's arms were stretched painfully above his head.

The last thing he remembered was blasting through the ruins at top speed on his sparrow. Then ... somehow ... they crashed.

"What did I hit?" he said groggily.

"Nothing," Banner said. "A Cabal centurion landed on us from above. He was using his jet pack, the way they do."

"Stupid aliens," Ferral muttered. "Why did they bother capturing us? Cabal don't take prisoners."

Banner's fear reached him through their bond, cold and paralyzing. "They killed you and Lethia. Then the Centurion picked you up and carried you into their base. There's a whole area dedicated to the Hive. Thralls and acolytes everywhere. A wizard came out, talked to the centurion. It was pleased to see two dead Guardians." Banner's voice broke. He paused to regain control. Ferral's heart sank.

"They said - they said -" Banner hesitated. "Oh, Ferral, they're going to torture you to death over and over for information on the Last City and the Traveler. And then the wizard has a ritual planned to send us to our final deaths. You were right - they've been tracking us since the ship went down. And they destroyed that Vanguard base, too. The Cabal made a deal with this Hive brood to collect extra power. It all has to do with Oryx."

This was worse than Ferral had imagined. He struggled against the chains. They were too short to allow him much leverage, or he could have broken them.

"Ferral?" Lethia said from nearby. Her ghost had resurrected her, too. "Niki says they're going to torture and kill us."

Ferral looked at her. Lethia was dirty, the Light beneath her blue skin flowing sluggishly. Her hair was plastered flat with drying blood and mud. Her blue-green eyes were bright with alarm.

"I'm afraid so," Ferral said. He strained against the chains. "I'm sorry, Lethia. This went really badly."

"How will they torture us?"

"I don't know. Tasers and knives, probably. The Cabal aren't subtle."

"Will they touch us? With their hands?"

He suddenly realized what she had in mind. "You want to Voidwalker them?"

She nodded. "I can kill anything that comes near, but I have to be touching it."

"You think they'd take precautions," Ferral said. "Here's hoping they underestimate us."

Niki appeared in a sparkle of light. "I'm going to sneak out and eavesdrop on the aliens. Maybe I can find a way to help you escape."

"Don't get caught," Ferral warned him.

"Niki, be careful," Lethia implored.

The ghost bobbed in midair. "I'll be so sneaky, they'll never notice me. Be right back."

He vanished. In Ferral's head, Banner groaned softly.

"What?" Ferral thought.

"Niki's trying to impress his Guardian," Banner muttered. "But he's taking risks. He'll get himself killed, at this rate."

Ferral gazed anxiously at the room's single door. So did Lethia.

After several minutes, Niki reappeared. "This is bad," he told them. "The wizard is going to do the interrogating, for one thing, and he won't have to touch you. He's going to sing one of their foul songs to make you tell them everything."

Ferral shuddered. The very worst Hive magic was performed through song, accomplishing everything from mind control to tearing the soul from the body.

"Will that kill us?" Lethia said.

"Depends on the song," Ferral said grimly. "Seeing as they intend to kill us over and over ... it'll probably hurt. A lot."

Niki flew to the staples holding Lethia's chains to the wall. He scanned each one. Then he examined the shackles on her wrists. "These are sealed with an electronic pulse," he announced. "Banner, we might be able to hack them."

Banner appeared, a tiny sphere with an eye in it, and examined Ferral's shackles. "You're right. Read the profile and take it into phase - it's not safe to stay out." Banner followed his own advice, scanning and disappearing.

Niki stayed out, playing different beams over the left shackle - sometimes a wide, thin beam, sometimes a concentrated beam like a laser. Lethia watched him, chewing her lower lip. "Niki, how long will this take?"

"I don't know," he replied. "This is an encryption loop. I have to find the right frequency to open the loop, and it'll take time to dial in. In fact, I - " He froze, looking toward the door. Then he vanished.

The door opened to admit a Cabal centurion, eight feet tall, and so broad in his armor that he barely fit through the doorway. He was followed by a Psion - a small, lithe humanoid alien the Cabal had assimilated into their culture ages previous. The Psion carried a data tablet. The small room suddenly felt even smaller.

Last of all, a Hive wizard floated into the room. Its body was swathed in either chitin filaments or layers of floating cloth, it was hard to tell which. Its three green eyes glowed with malice.

The centurion rumbled at them in his deep voice. The Psion translated in heavily-accented English. "You Risen have fallen into our hands at an opportune time. There is much we wish to learn from you. You will tell us what we ask, or it will be stripped from your mind. At the end, when little remains of your precious Light, you will be consumed for the glory of the Logic of the Sword."

Ferral muttered, "At least they're honest about it."

The wizard's green eyes fixed on him. It floated toward him, but the centurion held out a massive hand, gesturing to Lethia instead, giving Ferral an evil look. Despite the lack of translation, it was obvious what he had said. "Work on the female first. The male will comply more readily."

"Oh no," Lethia whispered as the wizard turned to face her. "Ferral, I don't know anything to tell them!"

"That's not the point," he said. "They'll torture you to make me talk."

Disconcertingly, the Psion muttered in the background, interpreting this for his superiors. The centurion grunted and nodded at Ferral, as if approving that Ferral caught on so quickly.

The wizard stooped toward Lethia and began to chant softly. She cringed and shut her eyes.

Ferral's limbs were restrained, but his Light burned fierce and angry. He had taken responsibility for Lethia, and he would not stand by and watch them destroy her. Beneath this noble thought were others that he didn't want to analyze - thoughts of her glowing eyes, her smile, the way the sunlight glinted on her hair.

"Banner," he thought. "Standby."

He sensed his ghost studying the room, the relative positions of their enemies. "You can kill the Psion, but the centurion and wizard will be harder. You have to land two head shots at once."

Ferral studied their positions, estimating distance. His Void Light enabled him to create daggers of pure energy, which he had learned to hurl outward like bullets. Such feats were normally only performed by Solar hunters, but Ferral had practiced with friends until he could manipulate slippery Void daggers the same way. The trouble was trying to throw them without using his hands. He had done it before, but only one dagger at a time.

He mentally constructed three daggers, their blades sharp enough to divide atoms. He turned them over in his mind, testing their balance and weight. Then he mentally connected each blade with the head of each alien in the room. The knives would go where he intended, as long as he held his focus.

"No," Lethia moaned, her head tossing back and forth. "I don't know anything about the Traveler! I've only been a Guardian a few days! I've never even been to Earth!"

The Hive wizard leaned closer, his chant growing louder and more angry.

Ferral's mental knives all focused on the Hive wizard - and Lethia. He wrenched them back to their original targets. Void knives were unruly this way - the slightest shift of focus would send them the wrong direction.

Lethia struggled against the chains. "I told you, I don't know! What Tower? I swear, I've never been there!" But her eyes flashed toward the wizard, calculating.

The wizard snarled its song in her face. Lethia headbutted it with all her might. Void light flashed. That split second contact had enabled her to steal energy from the wizard, which reeled backward with a screech. The centurion and Psion swayed toward Lethia, ignoring Ferral.

It was the perfect shot. Ferral lined up the knives.

Then Lethia's ghost appeared and opened her bindings.

Ferral glanced at the ghost just as he loosed the shadow knives. Two blades found their marks in the heads of the Psion and centurion. But the third knife veered away from the wizard and passed through Niki's core.

The ghost fell out of the air, struck too suddenly to make a sound. Lethia didn't see, her whole attention fixed on the wizard. Her feet were still chained, but her hands were free. She hurled a ball of Void light straight into the wizard's torso. The energy tore the wizard into burning halves that sizzled away into nothing.

Ferral was the one who cried out - in the shock and anguish of killing her ghost. "No! Stupid, dark-cursed knives!"

Banner appeared and swiftly opened the shackles on Ferral's hands and feet. He said nothing, but horror and anger radiated from him like heat.

Lethia was sitting up, panting, rubbing her wrists. "Niki, can you undo my feet?" She looked around in confusion. "Where'd he go?"

Ferral couldn't even answer. As Banner opened Lethia's shackles, Ferral stumbled across the bodies of the aliens and picked up Niki's fallen shape. The ghost's eye was cold and dark. The ethereal blade had passed through him without leaving a mark.

Ferral handed Niki to Lethia, then slumped against the wall, hands over his face.

"Niki?" Lethia gasped. "What happened to him? Did they shoot him?"

"I did," Ferral whispered. "With a void knife."

Lethia stared at the motionless ghost in her hands. The light beneath her skin died away. Her eyes stopped glowing. For a moment, she looked like a corpse sitting there.

Banner appeared in front of Ferral. "Pull yourself together," he snapped. "Our enemies heard the explosion and they're coming. We have to run."

Ferral couldn't face Lethia. He had just committed an unspeakable atrocity against her. He held out a hand to her, looking only at the door. She took his hand, and hers was cold and clammy. Ferral towed her out the door.

"I should kill you," she whispered.

He didn't answer, because he certainly deserved it. When they returned to the Tower, he'd face a Vanguard inquiry and possibly a court-martial. Ghosts were sacred, and if a Guardian killed one, the penalty was permanent death. He only knew of two cases when it had actually happened. Both culprits had been executed - not by the Vanguard, but by other Guardians delivering justice.

They emerged in a wide hallway. Three Cabal legionnaires rushed them, brandishing long knives. Ferral reached for the weapons he no longer had.

Lethia pushed Ferral aside, ran at the aliens, and whirled among them, stealing life and turning it to void explosions. She fought one-handed, Niki clutched tightly against her.

Ferral trailed behind as Lethia killed everything in their path. He moved in a haze of horror, and it wasn't until they neared the airfield that he realized what Lethia was doing. She wasn't only taking out her rage on the aliens. Every time she absorbed energy from one, her free hand dropped to the ghost. She was pouring him full of Void Light.

Maybe Niki wasn't dead, yet. Maybe there was still a chance. But Ferral hardly dared hope. His shadow blades were simply too lethal.

Banner spoke to him as little as possible. He existed in phase as a spark of rage. He did the bare minimum required to keep his Guardian standing, and that was all. Ferral was too busy running and fighting to do anything about it. Maybe he didn't want to. Maybe he deserved his ghost's wrath.

_I'm a ghost killer. I mortalized a fellow Guardian._

They ducked beneath one of the Cabal warships. Banner emerged from phase to communicate with a terminal, lowering a gangplank to allow Ferral and Lethia to board. They clattered up the gangplank and through the ship to the cockpit.

Everything in a Cabal ship was a size bigger than on a human ship. The chairs were too large, the instrument panel at chest-height, the viewport above their heads. Banner interfaced with the ship, but Ferral and Lethia had to rush back and forth, pressing buttons and pulling levers at the ghost's direction.

The aliens surrounded the ship, firing at it, but Banner loaded the ship's energy cannons and fired back. It provided them enough cover to take off and roar into the dusty brown sky.

"This ship is equipped with a jump drive," Banner announced. He hesitated. "Shall I set a course for Earth?"

"Do it," Ferral replied.

Banner faced the instruments, but didn't activate his beam. "Lethia, is there any hope for Niki?"

"I don't know," she said, still clutching the dead ghost.

"Because," Banner said, very slowly, "if he's truly dead, then they'll execute Ferral. I'm not saying he doesn't deserve it, but ..."

Lethia looked up and met Ferral's eyes. He gazed at her in helpless despair. She held his life in her hands, and he had zero defense. He'd made a mistake and cost her the life of her ghost. There would be no mercy for him in the Tower.

"Set course for Earth," she said.

Banner obeyed.

Ferral slowly climbed into the pilot's seat and strapped himself in with the weird Cabal harness. Lethia took one of the two copilot seats, where she drew in her knees and bowed her head over her ghost.

The ship jumped to near light speed. Ferral watched the alien instruments without seeing them. In a few hours, he'd face his final death. If he was lucky, they wouldn't kill Banner, too.


	11. Earth

Lethia had gone sick and cold inside when she took Niki's dead shell, and she hadn't recovered.

The instinct that had served her in reviving Banner and healing Niki once before told her that this problem would take vast amounts of Light. So she harvested it from their enemies, flooding Niki's dead core until his lifeless eye glowed purple.

It still glowed, as she wrapped herself around him. But his spark wasn't there. Her sweet, foolhardy ghost was gone.

Or was he?

Something still burned deep inside that core. She mentally burrowed inside, swimming through the void, seeking that fraction of Niki that remained. He had gone dark, his core cold and hollow. She reached out, seeking that last flicker of Light.

Then she touched the knife.

Ferral's void blade was embedded in the ghost's heart, stuck in the spark itself. Light had harmed Light. It was so immensely wrong. Wrung with pity, she touched the flickering, injured spark. It fluttered against her awareness like the brush of an eyelash. "Niki."

His voice came to her, the whisper of a whisper. "Guardian."

She examined the knife, the energy that shaped it, the sharpness of the blade. So beautifully crafted, honed for death, and delivered to an innocent ghost. It had nearly killed him. It had also trapped him like a moth on a pin, unable to die.

"I can remove this, but you can't fade afterward," she thought to him.

"No ... strength," the tiny spark whispered. "When it goes ... I'll go."

"I'm here with you," she whispered back. "I've filled you with Light. I'll rekindle you with it. You didn't die before, and you won't die now."

"Please, save me," he whispered. "I trust you. And ... and ... do you still ...?"

Too well did she remember his plaintive cry, "I want you to _like_ me!"

"I do like you," she assured him. "I love you."

His spark flared a little on either side of the blade. "Oh," he whispered. "Oh, I had so hoped."

"Now, get ready," she said. "Stay strong for me." And she pulled out the blade.

The knife dissolved into energy at once, flowing into Lethia in a surge of heat and the taste of vinegar. Niki's spark guttered and shrank, no longer held in place by the knife.

"Stay with me!" Lethia cried. She gathered the Void Light she had stored in his core and pushed it all shoved all into Niki's spark.

He flared up in a violet bonfire, making a terrified cry. His spark expanded to its proper brightness, filling his core once more, rippling and flowing with Void Light.

Lethia withdrew her focus and found herself looking into his eye. It still burned purple, but now the pupil focused on her, full of awareness.

"You made it," she murmured aloud.

Niki laughed weakly and floated out of her hands. He rocked sideways and dropped back into her hands.

"Ah, Guardian," he said sadly. "You've brought me back again, but it was too far."

"What do you mean, too far?" she asked, her heart giving a sick lurch.

"I'm ... completely Void Light inside. I think I must be locked into it. I mean, the knife was Void ... and you used Void to save me ... and now I can't feel Arc or Solar at all. I'm afraid you'll never be able to switch disciplines."

"I don't care," she said earnestly, wondering if down the road, she might care very much. "You're alive, and that's all that matters."

His eye blinked off and he leaned his shell into her palms. "My wonderful Guardian. Thank you."

"Use my name," she whispered.

"Lethia," he murmured. "My own, wonderful Lethia. If ... if you don't mind, tell Banner I'm alive. He's very upset."

Banner was still at the instrument panel, just a tiny floating sphere. Lethia uncurled. "Banner, Ferral, I brought Niki back."

Both of them exclaimed in relief. Banner flew up and played a scan beam over Niki. "She pulled it off again! I don't believe it. But ... Niki ... what's happened to your Light?"

"I'm Void aspect, now," Niki said. "I'm locked out of the rest. It feels so strange. Like part of me has been amputated."

Banner stared at him in speechless dismay. He backed away, slowly.

"Don't be like that," Niki said. "I'm still me. The Traveler grants Void Light, too."

"Void Light is part Darkness," Banner said. "That means ... _you_ are part Darkness."

Niki gazed at his brother ghost a long moment, as if stunned. Slowly he turned to Lethia, blinking his purple eye. "Just like an Awoken."

Banner returned to the instrument panel. Niki took his place above Lethia's shoulder, but his sadness touched her through their bond.

Ferral watched this encounter. His blue-gray skin barely had any Light swirling beneath it at all, and his fiery eyes were dim. "I guess it doesn't matter, does it? We'll still have to report in. You'll have to explain why your ghost is Void-only. And they'll still court-martial me."

Lethia wasn't quite so angry at him, now. He hadn't meant to kill Niki - Niki had taken a risk he shouldn't have. But her feelings about Ferral were muddled together, anyway. Yesterday, she had wanted to kill him. Today ... well, she had wanted to kill him, too, but she wanted him to fight back. This crumpled, ashen Ferral was past fighting.

"You could run," she suggested. "You're a Hunter. We can drop you off somewhere and claim I came back alone."

"I'd need supplies," he said, bowing his head. "I lost everything when they wrecked my sparrow. I don't even have my weapons. And it's winter in the northern hemisphere right now." He heaved a groaning sigh and slumped in the huge chair. "I have to go back and face the consequences. Maybe they won't execute me right away."

"They'll execute you?" Lethia exclaimed.

Ferral nodded, digging his fingers into his striped hair. "That's the penalty for killing a ghost. I mean, it was an accident, and you did bring him back. But they'll still punish me. Just ... oh Traveler ... don't let them hurt Banner."

His ghost turned and looked at him for a long moment. "Fer ... they can't kill you without killing me, too."

"You're innocent," Ferral whispered savagely, tears glistening in his eyes. "I lost you once. I could face a final death if I knew they'd let you go."

"A Guardian _can't_ die unless their ghost dies," Banner retorted. "The very best we can hope for is exile."

Lethia watched this exchange with growing pain in her heart. She had assumed that getting off Mars would make everything better. All they had to do was reach the Last City on Earth. But now it seemed that their real trouble had only begun.

"You didn't mean to kill Niki?" she asked.

"No!" Ferral exclaimed. "My shadow knives hit whatever I focus on. Niki appeared just as I threw them, and it distracted me." He dragged a hand down his face. "Light. Maybe if I explain it to the court, they'll decide not to execute me. Maybe."

They discussed it over and over as they entered Earth's orbit. Niki joined Banner in piloting the huge, unwieldy ship through reentry. They neared the Last City and saw the Traveler on the horizon. The white globe seemed so small and fragile in its place above the City, even though it was quite large as they drew closer.

The Tower hailed them, and their ghosts responded. "Yes, this ship was captured by Guardians. Isn't it wonderful? Free Cabal ship parts!"

They were allowed to land in the hanger, far apart from the other ships. A number of Guardians and humans surrounded the ship, curious and cautious. They didn't relax until Lethia and Ferral disembarked, attended by their ghosts.

"Where do we go?" Lethia asked, gazing at the other ships and the watchful Guardians nearby. Their armor and weapons made her conscious of her tattered clothing and dirty face and hands.

Ferral hesitated a moment, bouncing on the balls of his feet. "I suppose ... we could get cleaned up and eat dinner. Before ... you know ... I report in."

"Cleaning up would be great," Lethia said. "And ... did we eat today? I'm starving."

Ferral nodded. "Right, then. We'll pick up food on the way to my apartment."

* * *

Ferral's apartment was below the Tower, down inside the wall, where the other dormitories were built. It was all one room with a tiny bathroom, perfect for a single Guardian.

They sat at his minuscule table and devoured noodle bowls. Lethia was used to the heavily spiced dishes of the Reef, so the spicy Ramen was a pleasant experience. Hot food was a great after days of cold, canned soup.

Ferral ate with one hand and attached a new shell to Banner with the other, wielding a tiny screwdriver with finesse. By the time they finished eating, Banner was dressed in a dark green shell with silver trim.

By comparison, Niki looked neglected in his bent, dusty shell. He floated stoically beside Lethia, his eye glowing a steady purple.

"I'll get you a new shell as soon as I can," she promised him.

"Oh, I'm not worried about that, Lethia," Niki told her cheerfully. "You take good care of me."

Lethia and Ferral exchanged a guilty look. It was hard to tell if Niki was really that naive, or if he honestly believed what he said.

"This is probably the last time we'll see each other," Ferral said, poking around in the bottom of the bowl with his spoon. "You'll be assigned quarters and gear, and start your training. I'll either be court-martialed or shipped back to the front. Did you see how empty the Tower was? Everybody's out fighting the Dreadnaught."

Lethia nodded, heart sinking. She had come to rely on Ferral to guide her through this strange new world. More than that, she cared about him as a person. He was a fellow Awoken, too ... and if not for her, he wouldn't be facing possible execution. The very thought sent wild panic beating through her.

"Couldn't you just ... forget to file your report?"

"I can't," he replied, looking pained. "I have to tell my commander about finding you, and the Taken in the Reef, and losing my ship, and the Hive working with the Cabal to destroy Vanguard holdings. That's all valuable intelligence. I can't keep it to myself."

"Could you leave out the ghost part?"

He sat back in his chair, wearily running a hand through his hair. His blue-gray skin was a shade more gray than usual. "I could. But you'll have to explain why your ghost is Void-locked. If our accounts don't match, I'll be in bigger trouble."

They stared at each other for a long moment. Lethia felt so many things and didn't know how to say them. Concern. Fear of the future. And a growing desire to run her fingers through his hair, smoothing the loose strands away from his forehead. "Keep in touch, whatever happens. I want to know what they decide."

Ferral nodded and forced a smile. "They'll keep you so busy, you'll forget all about me in a few days. Until the trial, I suppose. I'll have Banner send Niki a message now and then." He gestured at the bathroom door. "You can shower first. I'm going to start on my report."

A hot shower was sheer luxury after days on Mars. Lethia felt alive again afterward. If only her clothes weren't so disgusting. She shook them out and put them on, hoping the Vanguard would assign her new clothes immediately.

Ferral sat at the table, typing away on a tablet, which was already filled with text. He glanced up and smiled. "You look Awoken again."

"I feel so much better." She returned his smile, and again felt so many things, she didn't know what to say. Tenderness, sadness, a bit of frustration. She thought of him chained in the cell, thought of the expression on his face as he handed her poor, dead Niki, remembered the way he had gently wrapped tape around Banner's cracked core.

But what words went with those feelings? She couldn't seem to connect her mouth and her heart.

"I guess I'll go sign in," she said, even though it wasn't what she wanted to say.

Ferral stood up. "I'll show you where to go."

They walked through the Tower together in silence, their ghosts escorting them. Lethia kept trying to say something - anything - to express how she didn't want Ferral to fade from her life. But the words wouldn't come.

All too soon, they reached a door marked New Guardian Orientation. Ferral halted. "Here you are. They'll take care of you from here on."

"Oh," Lethia said faintly, looking at the door as if it were the gate to a Hive den. "Well. Thank you. For ... for keeping me alive. Getting me off the Reef."

"Annoying you," Ferral added with a wry smile. "Murdering your ghost. The usual."

"No," she exclaimed. "That's not what I meant."

He opened his mouth, then shook his head. "You know what, don't. Just ... don't. I don't know what my punishment will be. Until then ..." He nodded at her ghost. "Take care of her, Niki."

"I will," the ghost replied.

Ferral walked off, shoulders hunched and hands shoved in his pockets. Lethia watched him go with a sinking sensation in her chest.

"Don't worry, Lethia," Niki reassured her. "I'll help you figure things out."

"I hope so," Lethia said, and opened the door.


	12. Missing in action

Ferral took his time about finishing his report. He didn't finish it until the following morning, and didn't submit it to the Vanguard server until that afternoon. Then he had to wait for a response.

The Vanguard leadership were out dealing with the Dreadnaught and the war in the Reef, so there was a huge backlog in the reviewing of reports. After a day of hearing nothing, Ferral checked in with the secretary who managed the Hunter Vanguard's paperwork.

She was a long-suffering Exo named Vera-8 who quietly cleaned up the messes left by her boss, Cayde-6. Cayde was absent, so she was handling all of the Hunter work herself.

"Has my report been reviewed, yet?" Ferral asked, trying not to appear too nervous.

Vera's eye-lights looked somehow even more put-upon. "Name, please."

Ferral told her, and waited while she looked it up.

"Hm," Vera said, "your report has been put on standby. Looks like someone thinks the commanders need to review it."

Ferral's mouth went dry.

"However," Vera went on, "they're still begging for more help at the Reef. I can ship you out tomorrow with a fire team."

"That sounds good," Ferral said at once. "I want to help fight."

It would get him out of the Tower, keep him too busy to worry about the uncertain fate hanging over his head. He didn't want to think about Lethia, either. She didn't need him moping around as she went through training. Warlocks and Hunters didn't mix much, anyway.

He signed on to a fire team that had an opening, then went back to his room to pack a few things. His favorite weapons had been lost on Mars, so he had to make do with a backup auto rifle and a couple of spare sidearms.

Banner floated beside him in silence. His ghost hadn't said much to him since Ferral had knifed Niki. But as Ferral packed, he said, "Banner, we need to talk."

"Yes?" Banner replied.

Ferral faced his ghost. "How long are you going to stay angry?"

Banner blinked at him from his new green shell. Then he looked away.

"Ban," Ferral said, "it was an accident. You saw it happen. I didn't target Niki on purpose."

"It's not that," Banner said, facing him again. "I've been trying to figure out how to explain it. You're my Guardian. We're partners. When the Taken almost killed me, you did everything in your power to keep me alive, and I'm grateful. But when you killed Niki ... I realized how delicate we ghosts are. That knife could have hit me. It ... broke my trust in you."

They gazed at each other for a long moment. Ferral processed this. Broken trust. His own ghost didn't trust him anymore. Grief crept through him in a cold wave.

"How do I fix that?" he blurted.

"I don't know," Banner said. "It'll take time, I guess."

Ferral held out both hands. For a moment Banner didn't move, and Ferral feared that his ghost was afraid to come near him. Then Banner flew up and nestled between his palms, blinking up at his Guardian.

"I'm sorry," Ferral whispered. "I'll never hurt you, I promise."

"And I'm sorry that I've grown afraid," Banner replied. "It'll be good to go back into combat. Less time to worry. We'll be a team again in no time."

Ferral hugged the ghost and gently released him. "Thanks for giving me a second chance."

"You're welcome," Banner replied. "I don't want to fear you. You're my Guardian, and my spark shines with yours." He emoted a smile. "I love you, you big lout."

Ferral grinned. "I love you too, little light."

It was the last time they'd have time to talk for a while. They shipped out the next day in a team led by a married couple named Kari and Rem. Experienced Guardians, experts in battle - and they'd be boarding the Dreadnaught, itself.

* * *

Lethia was welcomed into the Tower. The administration Guardians seemed despondent, and she had been there a week before she found out why. Many, many Guardians had died in the Reef and the Dreadnaught. There were standing orders to send more, even freshly raised newbies like Lethia.

She began warlock training with two others whose ghosts had recently found them. They had all had harrowing adventures trying to reach the Last City. But the other warlocks had been resurrected, and Lethia had not. And their ghosts had blue eyes.

Their trainer didn't quite know what to do with Lethia. Warlocks began training by exploring all three Light disciplines and settling on the one that suited them best. But Lethia had no link to Arc Light or Solar Light because her ghost was Void-locked. Her trainer finally registered her for lessons under Ikora Rey, Warlock Vanguard. Lethia went out for weapons training, instead.

Niki explained everything until she longed for him to stop talking. He gave her the history of the Last City and the Tower. He waxed eloquent about the Light. He talked her ear off about weapons, even while she was firing them and couldn't hear him.

One night, Lethia had collapsed in her bunk, exhausted and just wishing for sleep. Niki floated beside her. "After the Fallen destroyed our guns at the Twilight Gap, they pushed forward to the walls of the City, itself. I watched the whole thing from the mountains to the east. So many explosions. Then the Guardians destroyed the walkers and started pushing back - "

Lethia held up a hand. "Niki. Enough."

He stopped. "Oh."

She drew a deep breath, reminding herself to be kind. "Niki, I know you're trying to help. But sometimes it's just a bit ... much."

"Sorry," he said, the segments of his new shell drooping a little. Lethia had bought him a sunny yellow shell with red patterns. It complimented his purple eye. After a moment, he vanished.

"You don't have to impress me," she told him inside her head. "I already like you. Just be yourself."

"I'm trying." His voice was low and embarrassed. "I just ... worry that I'm not helping enough. And you won't like me anymore."

"Oh, Niki." Lethia flung one arm over her face and sighed. "I've forgiven you for making me a Guardian. It's all right."

"Have you?" Niki asked, still in that low voice. "You haven't told anyone about the Reef. Or your life there. But I feel your homesickness. And when food isn't right. And ... and how you're scared of the Traveler."

"No, I'm not!" Lethia exclaimed. It was her turn to be embarrassed. He had read her that closely? She'd thought she'd hidden her discontent so well.

"I do miss the Reef," she admitted after a moment. "I'm learning to fight so I can go back. Save my people from the Taken ... if there's anyone left."

Niki brightened. "I can help you do that! I explored all over the Reef before I found you."

Lethia smiled. "That'll be useful. I just hope the Vanguard will assign me there. From what I'm hearing, the Awoken disdaining Guardians isn't just one way."

"It's not all Awoken," Niki said. "It's Mara Sov. She didn't get along well with us."

"Us." Lethia thought about that. "I'm a Guardian. And I'm Reefborn Awoken. And we're Void-locked. Where do I belong, Niki?"

There was a long silence. Then Niki said, "I don't know. But I belong with you. I'm even ... half and half. Like you."

Half-Darkness, like no ghost should ever be. Ghosts were made of Light. Lethia's heart pained her. "Come here a minute."

Niki appeared above her in the bunk, his eye brightening the dim room. Lethia drew him down and kissed him lightly. "You do belong with me. And I'm so sorry I was ever mean to you. Just be yourself, all right? We'll find a place to belong. And if we can't find one, we'll make one."

His eye blushed pink again. When she let him go, he tottered in the air, then sank down to rest on the blanket. "Goodness, I barely know how to react to that."

Lethia stroked his shell with her fingertips. "Silly ghost. Anyway, we'll have to see what happens. And ... I hope Ferral makes it."

"No word from Banner," Niki said. "It's been weeks since they left. Shall I check the reports?"

Lethia quivered a little. "It has been weeks, hasn't it? I don't know if I want to know." She drew a deep breath. "Check the reports."

Niki sat there in silence, his eye gazing at nothing as his internal software crunched Vanguard data. Then he blinked and looked at her. "A fireteam crossed into the Ascendant Realm and killed the Hive god Oryx. Wow. I didn't know that was possible. That report came in ... let's see ... five hours ago. They're mopping up, now. But ... I'm seeing here that the fireteam was only a fraction of those who boarded the Dreadnaught. I don't know what happened to the others."

Lethia could barely make her mouth form the words. "Was Ferral ...?"

"This is a preliminary report," Niki said. "But it's from Kari, one of the team leads. So ... chances are, Ferral was with her."

Lethia clung to this fragile thread of hope. Although, if he survived the Dreadnaught, wouldn't he have to face a court-martial?

These dark fears followed Lethia for the next month. Winter gave way to a cold, rainy spring. Guardians straggled home from the Reef, tired and stressed.

Ferral didn't return.

He wasn't listed among the dead, but he had been marked Missing in Action. A lot of Guardians had. Some of them turned up on Mars, or Venus, or the other moons and planets. All of them were dealing with battle trauma. The Vanguard gradually collected them and treated hundreds of them for post-traumatic stress disorder. The battle against the Taken King had taken its toll.

Lethia trained under Ikora Rey, once the Warlock Vanguard returned to the Tower. Ikora was extremely interested in the Void-locking phenomenon, and asked a lot of questions about how it happened. Lethia had to admit that Niki had been fatally wounded by a shadow blade. Ikora went through the records and found Ferral's report. But since he was still MIA, there was nothing the Vanguard could do about him.

"I think," Ikora told Lethia, "your ghost could regain his connection with the Light. But you'll have to become adept at handling arc and solar from other sources, and you'll have to share it with him. Once he regains his Light, you, too, will have access to those disciplines. In the meantime, Void is powerful and extremely useful. I'll teach you combat and healing methods, as well as many small things to do in day to day life. As an Awoken, the Darkness will call to you through the Void Light. You must learn to recognize it and reject its call."

Lethia trained hard. Ikora was a strict teacher, and permitted Lethia to progress to the next level only when she had entirely mastered the first.

As summer warmed the lands around the Last City, Lethia graduated her training and entered full Vanguard service. The first thing she asked for was to be stationed at the Reef.

"It's my home," she explained to Zavala, Vanguard Commander. "I never died, sir. And I want to help my people, if there's any left. I saw what the Taken did to them."

Zavala was Awoken, too, although his place of birth was anyone's guess. He scowled at Lethia for a long moment, his Titan armor making him seem twice her size.

"The Reef does not welcome us," he said at last. "The Vanguard forbids the researching of a Guardian's past. But you never lost yours." He gazed at the maps on the command room's table. "Tell me, Guardian. Would your people welcome you home?"

"No," Lethia said. "But I understand the prejudice, sir. I'd like to help them rebuild, or heal, or do whatever I can. Maybe garnering goodwill would help the Vanguard in the future."

"Maybe." Zavala scrutinized her. "I'll give you eighteen Earth months. I want weekly reports on progress made. If, by the end of that time, the Awoken request that you leave, I will honor that request."

It was a fair condition. Lethia agreed. The next day, she departed Earth in a basic Vanguard jump ship.

* * *

"Ferral," Banner said. "You should go inside and get warm."

Ferral had been sitting on a rock in the wind for two hours, staring into space. They were deep in the Reef, in a remote area of the ring called the Reformation. Here a wild forest had been allowed to take over the rocky hills, disguising the skeletons of wrecked space ships. It was a misty, rainy, cold place, and not many Awoken lived there. Ferral had chosen it for this reason. He had settled in a little shack made of salvaged ship parts a day's walk from the nearest tiny town.

Banner gazed at his unresponsive Guardian. "Ferral," he said again. "Come along, now." He nudged Ferral's cheek with his shell.

Ferral jumped and looked at him. "Banner! What's wrong? Are they coming?" He leaped to his feet, drawing his sidearm and gripping it in both hands.

"Nobody's coming," Banner said gently. "You should go inside. The sun's going down, and you're freezing."

"Oh." Ferral relaxed, scanning the trees that bordered their clearing. Still carrying the pistol, he made his way into the shack, moving stiffly from cold.

The inside of the shack had a table, a tiny cot, and a pile of weapons and ammunition. Ferral crossed the room to the weapons and picked up each one, checking them and setting them down again. He did this whenever he entered the shack. Banner was certain by now that Ferral had no idea he was doing it.

"Are you hungry?" Banner asked.

Ferral gazed at his ghost a long moment. "Yes. I think I am." He went to a box in the corner, selected a ration pack with great care, even though they were all the same, and carried it to the table.

Banner watched in concerned silence. It had been six months since the Dreadnaught. Ferral had been part of the fireteam that had gotten lost inside the Hive flagship. He had watched his teammates be harvested, their Light stripped and stored in crystals, their ghosts murdered. Ferral had escaped in a stolen Hive fighter, but he carried with him trauma that no ghost could repair.

Banner saw to his Guardian's basic needs, making sure he ate, slept, and didn't die of exposure. But they had no more conversations, no more comfortable companionship. It was as if Ferral had switched into combat survival mode and couldn't switch back. Banner had scanned his Guardian's brain repeatedly. There was nothing wrong with the cell structure. Ferral's problem went far deeper than just his body. His very Light was stunted.

That night, as Ferral tossed and turned on his cot, Banner sent out a plea on the Light network all ghosts shared. "Are there any Guardians in the Reef? Please, my Guardian needs help. He's suffering from PTSD and I can't heal him."

A familiar ghost's voice replied. "Banner? Is that you? This is Niki."

"Niki?" Banner could barely believe it. "You're out here in the Reef?"

"Yes! Lethia has been dispatched here to aid the Awoken. Although, honestly, I think she's looking for you and Ferral."

Banner gazed at his Guardian, currently curled in a ball under a single blanket. "I'm afraid that she won't like what she finds. Ferral lost himself on the Dreadnaught and hasn't returned. I'm afraid he's insane." He hated to use the word. It seemed so harsh.

Niki was silent a long moment. When he spoke again, his voice was so soft, Banner could barely hear him.

"I've told Lethia. She's devastated."

"Me too," Banner said simply.

Dismayed silence.

After a while, Niki said, "Lethia wants to see him. She thinks she can help. What are your coordinates?"

Banner sent them, relieved. Help would come. Lethia was a warlock, even if she was locked into Void. Just having a friendly Guardian around might help Ferral's mind.

"Bring food," he said. "And supplies. Ferral had been living on ration packs, and I'm constantly healing him of infections and viruses. He would die of sickness if I let him." He sent Niki a list of supplies he had been wishing for.

"We can bring these," Niki said, cheering up. "It'll be a few days, but I'll let you know when we're close."

Banner felt a little better after that.


	13. Healing

Ferral knew he was sick. Sometimes he woke up a little, took a look at himself, and was horrified. But the rest of the time, he existed in the same haze of fear that had settled on him in the Dreadnaught. Sometimes he thought he was still lost in the horrible ship, stumbling through Hive muck, fighting thralls hand to hand, and blundering into huge worms that formed a writhing wall. In those times, it was only Banner's patient, calm voice that guided him, step by step, out of the darkness.

He couldn't seem to get ahead of the hallucinations. Without Banner, he would have forgotten to eat, sleep, or even seek shelter from the rain. He couldn't remember the last time he had bathed or even looked at his appearance.

He was in between episodes, sitting outside in the weak sun, trying to get warm, when a Vanguard ship flew over and landed nearby. Ferral leaped to his feet and stood there, gripping the sidearm he didn't remember drawing.

A guardian approached through the trees. A warlock in an armored robe.

Lethia.

Ferral recognized her with a shock. Why had she come? He had killed her ghost. She hated him. Maybe she had come to take him to prison. Everything was mixed in his brain. Had he killed her ghost on the Dreadnaught? There had been Hive. A wizard. And he'd used his void knives. How long ago was that? He couldn't remember.

Lethia halted and stared at him. She carried her helmet under one arm, but her hair was still combed and trimmed in the same Awoken style. And her eyes - still that odd shade of blue-green.

"Ferral?" she said cautiously.

"Lethia," he said. "You've come to take me back, haven't you?"

"N-no," she said. "I thought you were dead. I've been trying to find you."

"Not dead yet," he said. He realized he had his sidearm trained on her, and returned it to its holster. "Sorry. Still a little jumpy."

"I see," she said. "I brought supplies. I can bring them in, if you want."

Ferral smiled for the first time in what felt like years. "That's kind of you. I'll help."

It felt good to lift boxes and carry them around. His body needed the exercise. His mind cleared a little - enough to notice her ship, the make and model, and ask her about the engine performance. It was refreshing to think about something other than the Dreadnaught.

Back in his shack, he watched her unpack far more food than he could eat, as well as blankets, clothing, and basic necessities like soap and dishes.

"I don't need all this," he told her.

"I need them," she replied. "Because I'm going to stay here and take care of you."

He bristled a little. "I don't need a babysitter, Lethia. I can take care of myself."

"Oh yeah?" she snapped. "Look at yourself. When was the last time you changed those clothes?"

Ferral looked down at his greasy chest plate. His armor was grimy, the gloves filthy black. When had he last taken any of it off? He didn't remember.

"Look," she said, a hand on one hip. "I can see that you're sick. I think I can help, because I watched what they did in the Tower for other sick Guardians. But you have to work with me."

Ferral nodded. Part of him resented being bossed around. But another part of him was relieved to have another person nearby who would look after him, especially during the dark times.

"Tell me one thing," he said. "Did I really kill your ghost?"

Lethia held out a hand. Niki appeared over it. "You stabbed him with a shadow blade. I brought him back with Void Light, which locked him into it. But Ikora thinks he can regain the other kinds of Light, in time."

Ferral frowned at Niki. "That wasn't on the Dreadnaught?"

"Mars."

He sort of remembered Mars - riding a sparrow through curtains of blowing dust. Hadn't Banner been hurt? No, that had been even earlier. Here, in the Reef.

He must have looked confused, because Lethia expression softened. She took his right hand and gently slid off the dirty glove. His hand, beneath, was nearly as dirty, but she didn't mind. She clasped his hand in both of hers.

The warm sensation of being healed by his ghost washed through him. But Banner floated nearby, watching, not doing a thing. Lethia was healing him?

Slowly his mind cleared a little. Yes, he had crashed his ship on Mars. They'd been trying to reach Earth. He'd had engine trouble, trying to rendezvous with the other Guardians before attacking the Dreadnaught, that was it. But he'd had to land at the Reef, and that was where Lethia found him.

It was a relief to straighten out events. Now he wasn't so confused. He looked into Lethia's blue-green eyes and smiled. "Whatever you're doing, it helps. Thanks."

"I'm fine-tuning your Light," she replied. "It's very erratic - super bright one minute, super dim the next. I've almost got it stabilized."

"Your Void power," he said in surprise. "You were so afraid of it."

"I've had training since then," she said. "I still don't like draining Light out of living things. But I can do so much more than that. I can help people. Before I came here, I was out at Hailey's Cross, fixing Taken injuries. I can actually purge Darkness from wounds."

"I wish you'd purge it from me," Ferral muttered. "The nightmares are so bad. I think if I could only sleep, I'd feel better. But I'm always ... always stuck on the Dreadnaught. And there's things in the dark."

He met her eyes. She gazed at him with compassion. "I can try," she said. "But healing this kind of thing takes time. I can't promise much dramatic difference right away. But you're definitely getting some square meals in you. And baths. And clean clothes."

After that, she instructed him to lie down in his bunk and let his Light find its own equilibrium. He obeyed, and watched as she heated his tiny stove and set to work cooking. Before long, the most delicious smells filled the shack.

"You can cook?" he said in amazement.

"I was a cook before I became a Guardian," Lethia replied. "Hearing that you've been living off ration packs offends me." She threw him a wink over her shoulder.

Before she fed him, she made him wash his face and hands multiple times before she was satisfied. Then she fed him the Awoken dish called sarcogi, which was a tender grilled steak over a bed of seasoned vegetables, with a traditional flatbread on the side. Ferral devoured it with the biggest appetite he'd had in months.

After Lethia had cleaned away the dishes, she demanded that he take a bath. This involved hauling water from the nearby spring, heating it on the stove, and filling a large bucket that was supposed to double as a bathtub, but Ferral had never used. Lethia went outside and left him to wash.

Ferral soaked blissfully in the tub for a long time before scrubbing himself off. "Banner, why did I never do this, myself?"

His ghost floated nearby, keeping an eye on him. "Why? Because you've been a complete zombie, that's why. Having a woman around to whip you into shape is a good thing. You might get well, now."

"I want to get well," Ferral said fervently, scrubbing his hair. "I forgot what it's like to think about ... other things."

As night fell, the air grew chilly and damp. Shivering, Ferral dried off and dressed in a clean set of clothes that Lethia had brought him. He stepped outside to find her waiting, leaning against the wall with her arms wrapped around her.

"You look better," she said, looking him up and down. "More like a Hunter and less like a crazed hermit."

"We'll see how I sleep," he replied. "Where are you staying?"

"I'll sleep on my ship," she said. "Come on, let's clean up."

Before leaving for the night, she again held his hands and adjusted his Light. A peaceful feeling settled over Ferral - peace and a bone-deep weariness.

After she went to her ship, and Ferral was in bed, he whispered, "Banner, how long have we been out here?"

His ghost settled himself on the pillow beside Ferral's head. "Six months and twelve days."

"Six months?" Ferral exclaimed. "How has it been that long? We just got here."

"Six months, Fer," Banner said quietly. "You've been so sick. I was frightened."

Ferral stroked his ghost. His mind felt as if he had awakened from a long nightmare - alert and, somehow, sore inside.

"You were scared of me," he blurted. "Because I hurt Niki. Remember?"

"I remember."

"Are you still?"

Banner touched his cheek with a healing beam, a soft touch like a caress. "Entering the Dreadnaught taught me what fear truly is."

Guilt hit Ferral a sudden blow. "You saw it all, too. And you never complained. Are you all right?"

Banner didn't answer, but his eye light dimmed. Ferral watched him.

"You're not all right, either," Ferral whispered. "Ban, I'm so sorry." He lifted the ghost and cuddled him under his chin.

"I watched those other ghosts and Guardians die," Banner whispered. "And I've watched you spiral. It's been horrible. I think ... I think Lethia needs to work on me, too. I may be responsible for your nightmares. Because I have the same ones you do."

"Not tonight, little light," Ferral told him. "Tonight, we're going to rest."

And while they still had nightmares, they were fewer than usual that night.

* * *

"I don't know how I'm going to do this, Niki," Lethia said.

She was curled in the tiny bunk on her ship, wrapped in blankets, holding Niki like a teddy bear. She hadn't stopped shivering since they returned.

"Do what?" Niki asked.

"Help Ferral," Lethia murmured. "He's so sick. I had to stabilize his Light twice. I've never had to do that with anyone, even with those kids with the Taken burns."

"I think you've helped him already," Niki said. "His eyes were so empty when we arrived. When we left, they had a little life in them."

"I fed him a meal and cleaned him up," Lethia said. "That's nothing. It won't fix what happened to him."

"It wasn't nothing," Niki argued. "To him, it was a big deal."

Lethia sighed. "I just ... feel like it's nothing."

"Pay attention to that feeling," Niki said. "You knew by instinct how to heal Banner and me, right? Do you have that same instinct with Ferral?"

"You and Banner are different," Lethia protested. "You're ghosts. You needed Light. But Ferral ... he needs everything. Light, and food, and ... and kindness. I'm not a kind person, Niki. Look how I treated you. And him. Just because he's a Guardian." Her voice broke. She had been so cruel in her ignorance. As a fully-trained Guardian, she saw how woefully misinformed she had been.

She looked down at Niki, under the blanket, and saw him gazing up at her. "You can do this," he told her softly. "Even if it takes all eighteen months."

"It'll take longer than that," Lethia said. "It'll be years. I just don't know if I can put up with healing the same person for years."

Niki giggled. "You'd have to marry him."

"Don't even joke," Lethia said. "I want to heal him, not marry him. I am _not_ in the market for a mate. Besides, Guardians don't marry."

"Some do," Niki said. "But I was only teasing. All joking aside, I want to help."

Lethia hugged him a little closer. "You already are, Niki."

* * *

Lethia almost dreaded walking out to the little shack of ship parts the next morning. What would Ferral be like this morning? Had she pushed him too far the previous day?

As she arrived in the little clearing, she found Ferral sitting outside on a rock with a pail and a scrub brush, cleaning his dirty armor. She stopped a moment to observe him. His color was better - more blue than gray - and the Light swirled beneath his skin in healthy patterns. He was far different from the maniac who had greeted her with a drawn weapon the day before.

"Good morning!" she called, not wanting to startle him.

He did look up sharply, a little of that animal wariness returning to his eyes. Then he recognized her and smiled. "Good morning, Lethia."

She inquired about his sleep patterns, and he assured her that he had slept better than usual. Leaving him working on his armor, she went indoors to prepare breakfast.

To her surprise, Banner was inside, alone, floating in the middle of the room. He spun to face her as she entered, his segments turning uneasily.

"Hello, Banner," she said. "Is something wrong?"

The ghost looked at her in silence for a long moment. Then he blurted, "Could you help me?"

Lethia blinked. "Help you?"

"Yes." Banner looked down. "I ... need you to stabilize my Light, too."

Understanding flashed through Lethia's consciousness. A ghost and a Guardian were linked on a soul level. Banner had been through the Dreadnaught, too, and was probably just as damaged as Ferral.

She sat at the tiny table. "I'm going to have to hold you. I know it's taboo to touch another Guardian's ghost, but ..." She held out both hands.

Banner hesitated. Then he slowly flew forward and landed in her hands.

Niki appeared at once and watched closely.

Lethia closed her eyes. Banner's spark fluctuated wildly, the way Ferral's had - sometimes blindingly bright, sometimes so dim, it seemed dead. It reminded her of a candle on a breezy night. She focused on coaxing it to a steady flame, calming the flaring and guttering.

Slowly Banner's spark calmed. She couldn't feel him relax, as she did Ferral, but the restless movements of his eye-light slowed.

"How do you feel?" she asked.

"Better," Banner said. He floated into the air. "I think it's going to help Ferral, too." He glanced toward the door. "Well, did it?"

Ferral stood in the doorway, watching in silence as Lethia handled his ghost without permission. She hadn't even heard the door open.

"He asked me for help," she said, a magenta blush creeping across her cheeks.

Ferral frowned at Banner, who flew to him. They gazed at each other a long moment, communicating telepathically. Then Ferral said simply, "Ask me first, next time."

Lethia nodded. "I should have. I'm sorry."

"You keep doing that," Ferral said, sitting on the rumpled bed. "You stole his core to heal it, remember? What is it with you always messing with my ghost?"

"You mean resurrecting him and healing him?" Lethia said, not sure if she was embarrassed or angry. Probably both.

"Yeah, that." Ferral exchanged looks with Banner again. Then he sighed and lay down. "I'm so tired."

Lethia began getting out pans and ingredients. "If you're feeling up to it, would you want to tell me about what happened to you?"

"It's not a pretty story," Ferral said. "Guardians dying, Hive wizards killing their ghosts. It was like what we saw on Mars ... but on the scale of a factory."

Lethia reminded herself to be brave, that this was part of his recovery. "Tell me about it."

He did, for the rest of the day. He couldn't seem to remember it in order. He would mention one event, then jump back to an earlier point, or later on. But slowly, Lethia came to build a picture of the whole awful experience.


	14. Agreement

Ferral had worked with a Vanguard strike team to sneak aboard the Dreadnaught. Led by the killer team of Kari and Rem, warlock and titan, they charged into the Hive ship with zero intel.

The inside of the ship was a lightless hellhole. The aura of Darkness was so deep that the Guardians were cut off from the Traveler. They were met with a cursory defense from Hive thralls that was only a feint to lure them deeper into the ship. The team were deep inside when they were swarmed by acolytes and knights. The team was split and lost track of each other.

Ferral was part of the team led by Rem the Titan. They wound up reaching a lower deck where wizards and knights caught them in traps of spiked chains. There they were held as the wizards killed their ghosts and tore the Light from them and their Guardians.

"I remembered how you drew power from that void crystal," Ferral said. "So when they came for me, I shattered the nearest crystal with a shadow blade. I took the power and used it to break the chains. I was going to free the others, but ... I was the only one left." He dropped his head into his hands.

Lethia sat beside him and rubbed his back. It was all she could think to do.

Ferral went on, his eyes red and his voice scratchy. "Banner had a partial map of the ship's interior by then. He guided me out. I fought until I was out of ammo. Then I used my rifle as a club. When that snapped, I used my knives. I stole a fighter, got out. Met the other team. I had to ... had to tell Kari how her husband died. How the whole team died. It broke her. I should have tried harder to save them."

"It's not your fault," Lethia said. "You did what you could, but you were so deep in the Darkness, it's amazing you escaped at all."

"I ran like a coward," Ferral said bitterly. "I saved my own skin. What a hero I am."

"They were dead when you escaped," Lethia argued. "There was nothing you could do. You can't keep blaming yourself."

Ferral sat with his head in one hand for a long time, staring at the floor of the shack. "I hadn't really reasoned it out before. But still. Just because I couldn't save them doesn't mean I shouldn't have tried. All we could do was watch ... and the way they begged for their ghosts' lives ... and each other ... and those wizards didn't care." He summoned Banner and held him close, protective.

Lethia felt ill. That night, when she returned to her ship, she cried for a long time. Niki stayed close, doing all he could to comfort her. When she finally fell into an exhausted sleep, Niki snuggled under her chin on the pillow.

* * *

The days passed. Ferral recounted his story so many times that the pain of it began to dull. Lethia caught him every time he began blaming himself and refused to let him wallow. Bit by bit, Ferral began to recover. The nightmares diminished, and he sometimes went whole nights without one.

In the meantime, he and Lethia fixed up the shack, patching holes in the walls and roof, building better furniture, and keeping everything clean.

"I bought this place with the last of my glimmer," he told Lethia one rainy day, when he was hammering together a chair in the middle of the room. "I think my account's empty, and I didn't care at the time. But now I think maybe it was a bad investment."

"My ship will get us back to Earth," Lethia assured him. "Assuming you want to go. Won't the Vanguard punish you?"

"I don't know, anymore," Ferral replied. "I suppose I could contact them and find out. But they'd haul my carcass back for a trial. Maybe I'd better stay MIA."

"I'll have to go back when my eighteen months are up," Lethia said. "I'm a Guardian, now. But maybe we can get you set up with a better place. The Reformation is an awful place to live."

"Yeah, I could beg the Dasa clan for land," he said with an ironic grin. "I'm sure they'd be kind to the prodigal. Seeing as they were so accommodating the first time."

"Oh ... you must not have heard," Lethia said, looking down. "Most of them were Taken."

Ferral sat very still, his grin fading. After a moment, he said, "Well. We lost a third of the Reef's population. It's not that surprising." He sighed and hammered in another nail.

Lethia watched him, sadness weighing on her. "I wish this had played out differently."

He looked up at her, his pale yellow eyes attentive. "You do?"

"I wish," Lethia said, "that we had met in peace time. And we got to know each other before I became a Guardian. That way, when Niki found me, I knew what was happening. I wouldn't have been so scared. I think of how I treated you, and Niki, and Banner, and I just die inside."

"Well," Ferral said, choosing his words carefully, "you're Reefborn. You thought the way all Reefborn are taught to think. I was resurrected on Earth, so ... I guess I see both sides. I understand why you acted that way. It wasn't much fun, though."

"I guess this is my way of making it up to you," Lethia said. "Trying to help you through this. It's my fault you're so messed up."

"I would have wound up out at the Dreadnaught eventually," Ferral said with a shrug. "It's just a question of whether my junk pile of a ship would have gotten me that far or broken down halfway." He paused, gazing at her. "I wish we could have made friends, too. I would have had a chance to ... to treat you a lot better than I did."

"We can start over now," Lethia suggested. "Make friends. Be nice. Understand each other better."

"We could." Ferral gestured to the shack's walls. "Not exactly ideal conditions, but it keeps the rain off."

"It's better than Mars," Lethia said with a laugh. And Ferral agreed.

The mood was much lighter the rest of the afternoon. When Lethia went to her ship for the night, Ferral sat on his bed for a while, gazing at the half-built chair and thinking.

"Banner," he said, "do you think Lethia and I could have a future together?"

Banner appeared, his dark green shell almost invisible in the dark room. "Are you asking me about her suitability as a mate?"

Ferral grinned. "You don't have to be so clinical about it."

Banner spun his shell in thought. "Well. Huh. I ... never really thought about this before. You two do get along quite well. At least as well as Kari and Rem. You've never formed an attachment like this before, so, I confess this is new territory for me."

"You see why I asked your opinion," Ferral said. "She's literally the first woman I've ever been interested in. At first I think I'm crazy, thinking she likes me. Then ... she wishes we had met differently, and ... Light, Banner. I'm falling for a warlock."

"A Reefborn warlock," Banner replied. "I advise you to proceed very cautiously. She's only been a Guardian half a year, and her memories are deeply ingrained. I don't want to see your heart broken. Not after everything else we've been through."

Ferral sighed and dug his fingers into his white-streaked hair. "You're right. It makes sense. I suppose I should ask her if this is what she wants. Is that all right? Just ... saying it straight out?"

Banner lifted his lateral segments in a shrug. "I have no idea, Fer. Lethia seems the logical type, so, maybe she'd appreciate it?"

Ferral finally lay down, wrapping a blanket tightly around himself to keep out the rain's chill. "I hope it doesn't scare her off."

Banner burrowed into the blanket and snuggled into his Guardian's arms. "I don't think it will."

* * *

On her ship, Lethia was having a similar conversation with her ghost.

"I guess I shouldn't expect much," she said, lying in her bunk with her hands behind her head. "I mean, look how badly I've treated him. And you, too."

Niki floated above her face, looking down. "I forgave you, my lovely Guardian. I knew you loved me when you pulled out the knife. You could have given me up for dead."

She smiled and stroked his shell. "You're my ghost, though. Ferral ... he's a Guardian I've treated terribly. But, you know, I think I've been attracted to him all along. That's why it irritated me so much that he was a Guardian. I wasn't allowed to associate with him, you know?"

"Wasn't allowed by who?" Niki asked.

Lethia sighed. "My people. Cultural expectations. Not that it matters, now. So many of them are gone. And I'm a Guardian, too. I wish I hadn't made such a mess of things."

"He seems fond of you, now," Niki pointed out. "He was very kind today, when you apologized."

"But that's how he is," Lethia said. "Kind, and generous, and protective, and, and, oh, I'm not any of those things. He won't want anything to do with me. He's only putting up with me now because I shoved my way in to take care of him."

Niki gazed at her. "Listen to yourself, Lethia. You, also, are kind. You, also, are generous, giving him your time and energy. Why else are you here?"

Lethia gazed into his purple eye, thinking. "I guess ... all I can really do is talk to him about it. If he's not interested in ... in a serious relationship, he'll say so. Light knows he's been brutally honest about everything else."

"I thought you didn't want a mate at all," Niki said, looking somehow mischievous.

"Well, I ... I don't," Lethia fumbled. "Or ... I didn't. But Ferral's different."

Niki chuckled and landed on her chest, where he could look into her eyes from three inches away. "I've known Ferral longer than I've known you. He's a good Guardian. And so are you. Get to know him a little more before you bother about romancing him."

She smiled at her ghost. "I'm glad I have you to help me."

Niki emoted a smile.

* * *

The next morning, over breakfast, Ferral cleared his throat. "So, is it all right if I ask you a question?"

"Of course," said Lethia.

"Would you ..." The words vanished from his brain. He started over. "Lethia, I think I'm developing feelings for you. Not just friendship, but something more. I ..." He gulped, meeting her eyes and finding them wide and startled. "I wanted to let you know before I do something stupid. If you're ... not inclined to that, then I'll never mention this again. We can go on being friends."

Lethia gazed at him for a moment with that expressionless look he had such trouble reading. Then she slid one hand across the table, palm upward. "I'd like that," she said simply.

He took her hand. "You'd like being friends? Or you'd like me to do something stupid?"

Her eyes sparkled. "Both."

He laughed, and a weight of anxiety fell off him. "Wait, that quick? Just ... you're fine with ... with being more than just friends? Like, closer than a fire team?"

She gazed at him a long moment, then at their clasped hands. "I think I've wanted to be your girlfriend for a long time. But it took a while for me to figure it out. When you didn't come back from the Dreadnaught ... I was just sick. Because I never told you ... so many things. I do want to be your friend. And your teammate. And something more, eventually."

His heart fluttered. Her words warmed him like a healing beam from his ghost. The attraction was mutual - he had a partner in this delicate dance.

Ferral grinned awkwardly. "Would you believe I worried about this conversation all night?"

"I did, too," Lethia said, lacing her fingers through his. "I told Niki that ... well, I think I've held a candle for you since we met. But I didn't understand Guardians. I was mad at you for being one."

Ferral rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb. "I thought you were beautiful, even on Mars when we both were dirty and tired. It annoyed me that you had the nerve to be such a jerk with looks like that."

Lethia beamed. "You understand. I didn't think you'd understand so easily. How is it this easy? I thought we'd have all kinds of misunderstandings and fights before we got this far."

"Honestly," Ferral said, "I stopped wanting to fight with you when I found you in the desert in the dark, buried under Hive thralls. That's when I realized ... I don't want to see you hurt. Ever."

She smiled a little, but her lips trembled. "I was so angry at you for killing Niki. But then ... I brought him back ... and you have to pay such an awful price. Hiding out here has only delayed it. And I ... don't want to lose you. It's that simple."

They gazed at each other fondly for a long moment.

"That's settled, then." Ferral released her hand and returned to his breakfast. "Now we can get on with life. A little more together than before."

Lethia gave him a bemused smile. "It's not like much has changed. You're doing better, but you're not recovered. I'm going to have to pick up food and report in with the Vanguard. If we do have a future together, it'll be a tricky one."

Ferral frowned. "Tricky, indeed."

* * *

Lethia filed a report saying she was working with an Awoken who had been mentally damaged by the war. All of which was true, and satisfied the Vanguard. But Ferral wasn't happy.

His nightmares returned the next few nights. He didn't tell Lethia about them until she noticed him beginning to look haggard again.

"You're not sleeping well," she observed a few mornings later.

"No," Ferral admitted. "I've been worrying, and that triggers the nightmares."

"Worrying about what?"

He rubbed the back of his neck. "Lethia ... you're important to me. I want to get well and reenter Vanguard service, so we can work together. But I have to face punishment for harming your ghost, and I don't know if they'll execute me or what. And don't say I could just hide out here," he added, as she started to suggest it. "That's cowardly, and I'm not going to behave like a coward. I'm a Guardian. I'm going to be worthy of you."

Lethia clasped his hand in both of hers and gazed at him anxiously. "I've been thinking about this, too. I can't see any way around it."

"So ... yes, I'm having nightmares." He gazed out a window. "And it's you they're killing. And I can only watch."

She moved up beside him, putting an arm around his shoulders. "That's awful. Would you be able to handle being on a fire team with me? We'll both get hurt. A lot."

His jaw tightened. "I don't know. At this point ... the trauma is still too close. Thinking about you taking bullets and being in pain, even for only a minute ..." His fists clenched. "I can't handle it."

Lethia didn't say anything, but she patted his back. He could tell she was touched.

"You don't have to go back to the Vanguard tomorrow," she pointed out. "You're not ready for combat at all."

"No," he said. "But I can't help thinking about it."


	15. Legalities

They talked about their options endlessly as the weeks became months. The Reef revolved into its second short summer. The Reformation received more sunlight, and the bioengineered forest put out broad leaves and flowers.

Lethia and Ferral grew closer. They became familiar with each other's habits and sense of humor. Ferral introduced Lethia to various games he had learned to play with a ghost, which doubled as defensive training, such as trying to snatch a ghost out of the air, while the ghost tried to dodge by disappearing.

But sometimes, the darkness crept up on Ferral again. A sharp sound or a strange animal cry would propel him into flashbacks of the Dreadnaught. He would lose track of where he was or what he had been doing. In those times, he would even lash out at Lethia, if she approached him too quickly.

She learned that when this happened, she had to call Banner. The ghost would appear, just as haunted and ill as his Guardian. Lethia cupped her hands around him and steadied his Light. And as Banner's Light calmed, so did Ferral's.

These episodes would cost Ferral an entire day. They became fewer as time went on, but they didn't stop completely, even with the therapy Lethia was giving him.

One afternoon, Ferral was asleep in his cot after a bad episode. Lethia had worked over him and Banner all morning, and was sitting outside in the sun, resting, with Niki hovering nearby for moral support.

Suddenly Niki turned in a circle, scanning. "Someone's coming."

Lethia jumped to her feet. "An enemy?"

"No?" Niki replied. "It's a person riding a craft like a sparrow. My scans want to peg them as a Dreaming City Corsair, but that's not quite it."

"Why would anyone want to visit us?" Lethia muttered. "I wonder if the Vanguard sent a Guardian to check on us."

"It's not a Guardian," Niki replied. "No ghost tag."

Lethia loaded her sidearm and holstered it. "Just in case they're an enemy," she assured Niki. "Better hide."

He vanished, but she felt him nearby, watching anxiously.

A few minutes later, the grumble of a vehicle echoed through the trees. A hovering sparrow-like craft pulled into the clearing. An Awoken man was aboard, dressed in a heavy jacket and helmet for travel. He parked the bike and climbed off, removing his helmet. He stood there a moment, gazing at the shack, and then Lethia. He was a very clean, well-groomed Awoken, like a panther walking erect.

"Hello," she said, advancing cautiously. "Can I help you?"

His glance told her she was unworthy to lick his shoes. "I'm looking for Kymil Elvaris Dasa. My sources lead me to believe he may be hidden here."

Lethia opened her mouth to say that this man had come to the wrong place. Then she hesitated. "Would this Kymil happen to be a Guardian?"

The stranger's lips tweaked slightly in disgust. "I'm afraid so. You are ...?"

"Lethia Mar," she replied. "His colleague. He's indisposed at the moment. And you are?"

"I am Delsaran Ildeth," he replied. "Steward of the house of Dasa, now that most of the clan has been Taken. I'm seeking out the last living heir, even if he is a Guardian."

Lethia stared at Delsaran for several stunned seconds. Ferral was the heir to the Dasa clan's vast holdings? Sweet, caring Ferral, who had spent the morning stranded in his own nightmare memories?

Her silence seemed to amuse Delsaran. He shifted his weight and grinned. "Guardians know so little of Reefborn affairs. The cities are struggling to rebuild. The Dasa clan holds the contracts for ninety percent of new construction. But they're gone and the accounts are in limbo. We need a Dasa to at least sign the initial paperwork ... even if he has been raised an ignorant Lightbearer. Guardians can still read, can't they?"

Lethia felt like she'd been slapped in the face by Reefborn thought. She had been this repulsive, too.

"Wait a moment," she said. "I'll see if he's willing to talk to you."

Ferral was spread-eagled on his cot in the warm, stuffy shack, snoring. Banner had settled himself on his Guardian's chest, dozing, too. Lethia hated to wake them, especially after his awful flashback of that morning. She touched Ferral's shoulder.

He opened his eyes, but it was a long minute before he really woke up. Banner floated into the air at once, blinking. Ferral groaned, rubbed his eyes, and sat up. "What's wrong?"

"There's a man here to see you," Lethia said softly, so her voice wouldn't carry through the thin walls. "He's looking for the last living Dasa heir. Kymil Elvaris."

Ferral's yellow eyes widened. "Is that my original name?"

"This guy thinks it is. You didn't find that out when you were asking questions?"

"I didn't want to know," Ferral replied. "Light and Darkness." He smoothed his hair and began pulling on his boots. "Here I wished I'd never contacted the Dasa clan. Finding out my history has been nothing but heartache. And now I get to walk that circle one more time."

"Maybe it's a good thing," Lethia whispered. "It'd get you out of here."

"Sure, and into the business world. Lethia, I'm a soldier, not a business mogul."

"A soldier with PTSD," she muttered.

"I heard that," he said. But he stood and went out to meet Delsaran.

Delsaran smirked as Ferral emerged from the shack, but quickly settled his face in a neutral expression. "Ah, Kymil Elvaris. I see the birthmark. Are you aware that you are of Clan Dasa?"

"Yes sir," Ferral said stiffly. "I was also told not to interfere in Dasa affairs."

"You can disregard that order," Delsaran replied. "You are the last living Dasa ... although, being a Guardian, there are those who would contest that."

"Skip the snobbery," Ferral snapped. "Why are you here?"

Delsaran, unruffled, produced a sheaf of papers from one of the bike's saddlebags. "As the Steward, I am to pass acting control of the Dasa holdings to you. Once you take control, you may disperse the assets as you see fit. Or you may retain it all and rule like a king. It's all the same to me. I am your steward and will run most things for you."

Ferral took the papers and paged through them. Banner appeared and looked, too, ignoring Delsaran's sardonic expression. Lethia noticed the muscles at the corners of Ferral's mouth tighten.

He passed the papers back to Delsaran. "I need time to settle affairs back on Earth. Can you spare me a month? Thirty cycles?"

"That's thirty cycles with your crews standing idle," Delsaran replied. "But yes, certainly. Anything you ask, Lord Dasa." His smirk made the title into an insult as he climbed back on his bike. "When you return, find me at the Dasa stronghold in Reefedge. Don't waste time, Guardian." He threw the last word over his shoulder as he wheeled the bike around and roared away.

Ferral stood there, gazing after him, one fist clenching and opening. Lethia stood beside him, winded by the speed at which everything had changed.

"So," she said. "Looks like you're a millionaire, now."

"I'm substantially more than that," Ferral said. "According to that paperwork, I'm now the primary shareholder of nineteen different companies. The legal jargon says that Dasa family has first rights to all sales decisions. Without me, all the businesses will limp along until they go bankrupt, never able to be sold. I think Delsaran vastly understated how badly they need me." He drew a deep breath. "I ... did not expect this. Right. So." He looked around the clearing, as if seeking direction for his next move. "It's time to pack up and head back to Earth."

"You're kidding," Lethia said. "Just like that? After hiding here for so long?"

He turned to her and took her hands. "I have to settle accounts with the Vanguard. They might still decide to execute me. If so, the last Dasa will be gone. Their holdings will collapse. But the same thing would happen if the Vanguard tried me for deserting. Like I said, I'm not a coward. I'll face whatever they decide to do to me."

Lethia's eyes flooded with tears. She stood there, her hands in his warm grip, so stunned, she couldn't make a sound. But the tears poured down her cheeks.

Ferral wiped them away with the back of a hand. "Hey. Don't cry. They'll probably only exile me. I'll come back here and take charge of the company. It's all right. Really." He pulled her into a hug and held her tight.

Lethia sobbed into his shoulder. "But I'll lose you! Whether they execute you or exile you! I can't just follow you to the Reef! I'm a Guardian! I have to go where I'm sent!"

He held her and stroked her hair. It was immensely comforting. As her sobs slowed to sniffs, he said, "Listen, we'll work things out with the Vanguard. I'm not giving you up, not after everything you've gone through for me."

She looked into his golden eyes, her own so blurred, his looked like twin stars. "How can you be sure?"

"I can't," he replied. "That's why you have to go with me. Prove that your ghost is still alive, that I hurt him on accident. You're the one who will save my neck, here."

She hugged him fiercely. "If nothing else, can do that. They can't execute you for an accident. Let's pack the ship."

* * *

The Vanguard took Ferral's case extremely seriously.

When he reported to Zavala and requested a review of his report, Zavala had him confined to his room until further inquiry could be made.

"Good," Ferral said to Lethia, who followed him and his guards to the dormitory. "I need to pack, anyway."

"I'll keep you posted," Lethia told him. "We'll finally get this over with."

Ferral paused outside his door and pressed Lethia's hand. "It'll be all right," he reassured her. "I have complete faith in you." Then he went inside, and the guards locked the door behind him. But they observed this exchange with bewilderment.

"He doesn't act like a ghost killer," one said.

"It was an accident, that's why," Lethia replied. "It only looks bad on paper."

The other guard shrugged. "Good thing he's got you to vouch for him. Ghost killers don't live long, generally."

"Callum lived, what, ten minutes after he killed his ghost?" the other guard said. "Yeah, this Ferral's lucky Zavala didn't shoot him right there in the command center."

These words ringing in her ears, Lethia went back upstairs, Niki floating at her left shoulder.

"You're the one they need to see," she whispered. "To prove you're alive."

"Only because of your quick thinking," Niki said, brushing his shell against her hair. "If I had died, Ferral would be doomed."

In the command room, Zavala, Cayde-6 and Ikora were all gathered together with tablets in hand, arguing in low voices. As Lethia entered, Ikora waved her forward.

"Is this the ghost who died?" Ikora demanded, pointing at Niki.

"Yes, ma'am," Lethia said, wishing her heart wasn't pounding so hard.

Cayde and Zavala both stared at Niki.

"You sure that's the same ghost?" Cayde said. His Exo face was hard to read, but his voice was friendly enough.

"I'm the same," Niki said, flying forward. "Lethia pulled the knife out before I could quite die."

"Ferral hit you with a shadow blade, right?" Cayde said. "One of these." He opened one hand. An ethereal knife made of shimmering purple light appeared in his palm.

Niki flinched backward and hid behind Lethia. "That's right," he said, peeking over her shoulder.

Cayde flicked a wrist and the knife vanished. "Hunter discipline. Shadow knives are hard to control. Solar knives are much easier. Arc blades ... well, don't get me started on arc blades. Those puppies are attracted to everything metal."

Zavala gestured impatiently. "You're saying that it's possible to accidentally hit a ghost with a construct weapon?"

"Oh yeah," Cayde replied. "This report says he was trying to hit three targets at once? Notice he hit two of his intended targets. That's impressive."

"And he also hit Lethia's ghost," Ikora exclaimed, tapping her tablet screen with too much force. "How does that happen?"

"It was my fault," Niki said, flying out of hiding and facing the Vanguard commanders. "I came out of phase to open Lethia's bindings. I was trying to help. I didn't know Ferral was about to kill everything in the room."

Cayde pointed at him. "See? That's it. He distracted Ferral. Shadow knives work on focus. Lose focus, even a smidgen, and those knives hit stuff you didn't want them to hit."

Ikora squinted at Cayde. "Smidgen?"

"Nuance," Cayde replied. "Point is, I totally buy this being an accident. My hunters try crazy stuff with their powers. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn't."

Zavala's frown deepened. "If this ghost was, indeed, hit with a shadow blade, it should be dead."

Ikora arched an eyebrow at Lethia, inviting her to explain.

Lethia licked dry lips. "I have a ... an instinct. For healing. I healed Ferral's ghost, first, when we thought he was dead. When Niki was hurt, I had the same feeling about what to do. I filled him with Void Light, then I ... I don't know what I did, but I could see the shadow blade stuck through his spark. I pulled it out and revived him."

"Lethia is already an outstanding Voidwalker," Ikora said. "It's possible to enter a light trance state and see your ghost's spark. I've done it, myself."

Zavala didn't answer. He was flipping through reports to find the account of Lethia healing Banner. He read it, scowling. His glowing blue eyes fixed on Lethia. "You resurrected a dead ghost?"

Lethia shrugged. "Maybe? I just rolled his core in my hands with a healing rift active. He was so cold, it took a long time to warm him. Then Ferral called him back. I couldn't do that - he needed Ferral's voice."

Zavala, Ikora, and Cayde stared at her in astonished silence.

"That s impossible," Ikora said flatly. "Ghosts can't be resurrected once they've returned to Light."

"I'm not claiming I resurrected him," Lethia hedged. "He wasn't completely dead."

After a short silence, Zavala said, "So, you've managed to heal two critically injured ghosts. Ferral attacked your ghost, apparently by accident." He summoned his own ghost. "Send a message to Guardian Ferral's guards to escort him here at once."

His ghost nodded and vanished.

Zavala turned to Cayde. "Hunters are your concern. You question him."

"I'm the good cop, huh?" Cayde said cheerfully. "That makes you the bad cop. Again. Come on, Zavala. Play against type more often."

Zavala didn't answer, but the hint of a smile touched his eyes.

Ikora drew Lethia aside a few steps. "Give them space to work. If they need your testimony, they'll ask."

Still, Lethia waited anxiously, fidgeting with the clasp on her battle robe.


	16. Parting

A few minutes later, Ferral entered the command room, flanked by two guards. His ghost flew stolidly at his shoulder. Zavala motioned for the guards to stand back. They obeyed, but held their rifles ready.

"Hey, Ferral," Cayde said, holding out a fist.

Ferral bumped fists stiffly. "Hey, Cayde. I guess Lethia's told you what happened?"

"Yep," Cayde said. "This is just to clear up a few details. Show the Commander how you use shadow blades."

His blue skin gone pale, Ferral summoned three transparent, purple knives, which fanned out above his palm. "Three is as many as I can create. I can throw them, usually one at a time. But I can throw all three at once, if I concentrate."

"I do that with solar knives," Cayde said, summoning a handful of fiery blades like Ferral's. He dismissed them, and Ferral let his own disappear.

"So," Cayde said, folding his arms, "how do you hit a ghost with one of those?"

"Well. Like this." Ferral pointed to the Vanguard commanders with three fingers. "Imagine you were my targets. I'm focused on you. Now - summon your ghost."

Cayde did, his ghost popping into existence in a swirl of bright particles.

"Distracting, right?" Ferral said. "It was just enough to throw off my focus. I didn't mean to hit Niki, but I'd already thrown the knives and it was too late."

Zavala said, "Both your reports state that you had not gotten along. This was not some attempt to destroy your teammate?"

"No!" Ferral exclaimed. "I was trying to _save_ her."

"It's true, Commander," Lethia exclaimed. Ikora shushed her.

Zavala looked at Ferral's ghost. "Banner. Do you have anything to add?"

Banner flew forward, spinning his new green shell. "It was an accident, sir. My Guardian was devastated. And I just want to say - if you execute him for this, you'll have to kill me, too, because I won't leave him."

"No!" Ferral exclaimed. "No, please, don't hurt him - he's innocent - he's never hurt anyone -"

His eyes clouded and he shielded his face with both hands, seeming to see enemies the others did not. "Not my ghost ... please, not him!"

Banner spun to look at him. "Uh oh."

Lethia rushed forward and grabbed Ferral's hands. "Ferral, it's all right. You're safe. This is the Tower."

Ferral struggled to pull away, trying to grab the sidearm he wasn't carrying. "Rem! No, they're killing him! They'll be after me next, and - let me go! They can't take Banner!"

Lethia closed her eyes and focused on Ferral's spark, which had gone into spastic flickers and bursts. A golden aura of healing Light glowed around her hands and arms.

"What on Earth is happening?" Zavala demanded.

"He's having a flashback," Banner said. "He was on the Dreadnaught. Only survivor of the team who died."

Zavala, Ikora, and Cayde exchanged glances.

"Banner," Lethia said, releasing Ferral's hands.

Banner flew to Ferral. Ferral grabbed his ghost in both hands and crouched, holding him against his chest, staring wide-eyed at nothing. Sweat beaded on his skin.

"I'm here," Banner whispered. "Guardian, I'm still here. Light, make it stop, the Darkness is so deep ..."

Lethia knelt beside Ferral, rubbing his back with healing Light trailing from her fingertips. Gradually, Ferral calmed. His eyes focused again and he fixated on Lethia's face. After a few minutes, Ferral crumpled to the floor, where he sat with his head between his knees, still clutching his ghost. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen. I'm sorry."

When Lethia had a second to look up, she caught Zavala and Cayde looking extremely uncomfortable, even ashamed.

She stood and faced them, summoning her courage. "Commanders, I've been treating Ferral for PTSD for the last four months. Please don't punish him. Not after what he's been through. And-" her voice broke. "Don't hurt his ghost."

Zavala sighed heavily. "I never intended to harm either of them, Guardian Lethia. But I had to be harsh, just in case." He turned to Cayde. "Dismiss Ferral from active duty until such time as he is deemed recovered."

Cayde lifted his tablet. "Medical leave, coming up."

Lethia felt Ferral's cold hand clasp her own. She stood there, holding his hand, her heart pounding and aching at the same time. He slowly climbed to his feet and stood beside her, shadows gathering beneath his eyes. He had to try twice before he made himself let go of Banner.

Ikora stepped forward. "We have a very good treatment program for our battered Guardians. Report to the medical ward, I'll send them your file."

Ferral saluted shakily. "Thank you, Commander."

"Dismissed," Zavala said.

As Lethia helped Ferral out of the command room, she glanced back to see Cayde shaking his head sadly, and Zavala massaging his forehead, as if developing a headache.

* * *

Lethia sat in the medical ward's waiting room for two hours. Ferral was escorted to a private room at once for therapy, attended by a doctor used to treating damaged Guardians.

"At least the inquiry went well," Niki told her, floating beside her.

"There is that," Lethia said. "It helps that Cayde-6 is so sympathetic to his hunters. But ... Niki ... what happens now?"

The ghost considered. "Well ... I guess he'll go back to the Reef and take over the Dasa business. And we'll keep on doing Guardian things."

"That's the problem," Lethia said quietly. "I don't want to lose him like that. I hoped to stay with him ... help him get well. And build a life together. But it looks like we're being pulled in opposite directions."

Niki gazed at her, his eye somehow sad. "You love him, don't you?"

Lethia nodded. There was no point trying to hide it from her ghost. He knew her too well. "I don't know how it happened, Niki. But ... yes, I've poured my heart into this relationship, and losing Ferral will mean breaking it. I'm Reefborn. I could help him with the politics he's going to be dealing with. But ... I'm a Guardian." She bowed her head, defeated by the enormity of the duty she couldn't escape.

Niki felt terrible. She was his Guardian, and he had saved her from the Darkness in the only way he could. But otherwise, being a Guardian had wrecked her life. And it continued to wreck her in ways a ghost never could have foreseen.

"This is my fault," he whispered.

Lethia looked up. "What?"

"This whole situation is my fault," Niki whispered. "I made you a Guardian. I introduced you to Ferral and got you off the Reef. I got myself stabbed by being an idiot. I've ruined everything."

"Oh, Niki." Lethia stroked his shell. "It's not you. I'm an idiot, too. I let myself fall for a man who I just ... can't have. Who could have guessed he'd get roped into the Dasa business? He's a Guardian and they despise Guardians." She trailed off, thinking of the many social pitfalls Ferral would encounter. If only she could be there to guide him. If only she could stay at his side, no matter what. If only she hadn't been so cruel to him in the beginning.

Ferral emerged from the hospital room a little later, moving in a slow, tired way, his yellow eyes more dim than usual. He still had a smile for Lethia, though. "You didn't have to wait for me."

"Yes, I did," she said, rising and taking his hand. His Light was steady and calm. "Did they help you?"

He shrugged. "It was the same therapy techniques you've been using. But I'd rather talk to you than the doctor, honestly. At least I know you." He sighed. "I just want to crawl into bed."

"Come on, then," Lethia said. "You look spent. Are you hungry?"

She started to head for the door, but Ferral didn't move. When she gave him a questioning look, he laid a hand on her shoulder. "Lethia. When did you last eat? Or sleep?"

She looked away.

Ferral gave Niki a look.

The ghost said, "Well ... not since we got here. Yesterday."

"Yesterday?" Ferral said incredulously. "Lethia, you can't do this to yourself. You get some food in you, right now."

They left the medical ward, Lethia feeling somehow chastened and happier at the same time. "I was so worried about you, I was too sick to eat anything. And I did sleep. Just ... not very well."

"Half an hour," Niki said. "And the rest of the night, you were on your tablet, reading Vanguard case files."

"Look," Ferral said, "I'm grateful for everything you've done for me, Leth. But you have to take care of yourself, too. You'll have a mental breakdown at the rate you're going."

"I thought they'd execute you," she replied. "Nothing else mattered. I can't lose you like that."

Ferral gave her a warm smile, his eyes brightening. "I know how you feel. So let me turn it around. I don't want to lose you, either. That includes watching you run yourself into the ground over me. We're going to grab dinner. Then you're going to sleep. Niki, make sure she does."

"You'd better rest, too," Lethia shot back. "You look like death on two legs."

He waved a hand. "I've been dealing with this for a while. I'll live. Now, where do you want to eat?"

* * *

They went down into the Last City and had dinner in a tiny restaurant. Lethia hadn't ventured out into the City before, content to gaze at it from the Tower. She was amazed at the number of humans, Awoken, and Exos all living and working side by side. At the same time, it made her homesick for Reefedge.

Ferral noticed. "Missing the Reef?"

She jerked her eyes away from the window and the traffic outside. "What? Oh. Yes, I suppose, a little."

"I've been reading their news networks," Ferral said. "Banner found a relay that lets him log in. The Awoken are determined to pick up the pieces after losing so much to Oryx. They're actually looking at building new, hidden towns deeper in the Reef. Our enemies will only keep coming as long as the Traveler is here. And ... the Dasa clan is who they're asking to build those towns."

Lethia gazed at him. "That's what you're going to do, aren't you?"

He looked down a moment, tilting a water glass back and forth. "Leth, I may be a Guardian. But I'm also Awoken. I may have been born in the Reef and not the Distributary, but that doesn't change what I am. You're Awoken, too. And our people have suffered a horrible disaster. I want to help them. And I've been presented with the means to do that. Isn't that what being a Guardian means? Helping? Protecting?"

Lethia nodded. Her heart swelled with both pride and tears. "I never expected to hear you talk like this. Our people need someone like you to show them that Guardians aren't all killing machines. It's wonderful just hearing you talk about it."

He opened a hand and slid it across the table to her. "Come with me. Help me create safe places for our people."

She gazed at his hand, the bluish skin so similar to her own, a hint of Light rippling beneath it.

"I want to," she said, making no move to take it. "I want to so badly. But I'm still under the Vanguard. They ..." Her voice dropped to a murmur. "They already have me assigned to a fireteam on Venus next week."

Ferral gazed at her, stricken.

Lethia finally took his hand, but apologetically. "I should never have told you my feelings for you. It's only making this so much harder."

Ferral looked down and bit his lip, the way he had when applying tape to Banner's bleeding core. When he looked up again, his eyes gleamed with tears. "Do you mean you don't want to be together anymore?"

It was so much like Niki's cry of _I need you to_ like _me_ , that it hit her heart like an arc bolt.

"I don't mean that," she exclaimed, suddenly finding her own tears choking her. "I mean that we can't be together, and it's killing me."

They sat there for a long time, holding hands across the table, gazing at each other, each occupying separate worlds that were spinning them apart with the irresistible force of gravity, itself.

"All right," Ferral said quietly. "Duty calls. But one day, we _will_ be together. Consider this a standing marriage proposal. When you can get out to the Reef again, feel free to accept. Or ... refuse, I suppose, if time changes your mind."

Lethia kissed his hand and pressed her cheek against it. "I will. And we'll stay in touch."

He stroked her face. "Definitely."


	17. Letters

_To: Kymil Elvaris Dasa_

_Dispatched from Vanguard, Venus station_

_Confidential missive enclosed_

Dear Ferral,

I've been on Venus three weeks and I can't describe how much I miss you. Venus has a lot of two things: jungle and the Vex. My team and I have dispatched hundreds of them, trying to kill off the Minds that run their local branch. But they keep escaping our net. We'll get them one of these days.

You can't see the sky from Venus. It's always cloudy and humid. Otherwise, I'd spend my nights hunting the Reef's location among the stars. Niki can point it out in a second.

I keep thinking about our last conversation in the restaurant. There's so much I didn't say. Here's one of them.

I love you.

I wasn't sure that I truly did, at the time. But being out here, with nothing to think about but surviving the next wave of killer robots, and cleaning the humidity out of my rifle's workings ... I think about you. And what I wish I'd said.

How are you feeling? Have you had any more episodes? Do you have anyone to help you when the Darkness gets too deep?

Reply soon,

Your love,

Lethia Mar

* * *

_To: Guardian Lethia Mar_

_Reef-network communications relay_

_Encrypted message follows_

Dearest Lethia,

I've taken charge of the Dasa's companies, but I'm finding I have my work cut out for me. It wasn't only my family who were Taken - it was their underlings, too. I think there's one survivor from upper management? I've had to round up everyone who had anything to do with the Dasas: accountants, clerks, managers, anyone I can find, to help me run things. I've signed probably a hundred promotions in the last week. Running nineteen companies at once is not for the faint of heart.

I wish for you every day. I need you to explain why the manager of my quarries always bows at our meetings. I need you to explain why the Dreaming City is still sealed.

I need you. There. That's all it comes down to. Light, I need you here.

I've only had one episode in the last three weeks, but it was a bad one. It took two days to get over. Poor Banner does his best, but it gets him down, too.

I haven't seen a doctor out here because I don't want to show weakness. Everyone watches me all the time, waiting for me to prove that I'm unfit to run the corporation. None of them wanted a Guardian in charge, but I'm the legal heir.

I've thought about how you didn't say things and regretted it. I wish I'd said things, too.

I love you. I only wish I could whisper it in your ear as I hold you close.

Keep fighting the good fight. Also, Vex Minds hang out in the cliffs to the north. They have entrenched communications there. I've killed a batch or two there before.

Love,

Your lonely Guardian,

Ferral

* * *

_To: Kymil Elvaris Dasa_

_Dispatched from Vanguard, Venus station_

_Confidential missive enclosed_

My lonely Ferral,

Awoken bow only to their royalty. That jerk bowing to you means it as an insult. Like calling you 'your majesty'. Fire his ass.

As for the Dreaming City, well, without our Queen, who is left with the authority to unseal it? Let it lie. If we can't get to it, the Taken can't, either.

I told my team your advice about the Vex Minds. Sure enough, they were holed up in the caves in those cliffs you mentioned. We cleaned them out this morning. They sure hated to see us coming. Vex activity has been negligible ever since.

I've been elected fireteam cook. After we'd been here a week and were already sick of rations, I had Niki find me some local edible plants. I made these things that resembled cabbage rolls. I thought they were tolerable, but my team proclaimed them a delicacy. They look forward to my evening meals, now. I find this daunting, seeing as I don't have much to work with! Niki has saved my neck repeatedly by introducing me to various fruits and seeds that I can tease into something appetizing.

I imagine you living like a king and eating the best the Reef has to offer. But then I remember the Taken invasion. Are you eating well at all? I wish I was there to take care of you. You're still recovering, and square meals are important.

All this blather is just to say ... I miss you. I miss your voice and your smile. I feel bad for admitting that I'm lonely, even with my fireteam camped around me. But I'm lonely for you. I'm sitting by the campfire, typing on my tablet, while everyone else is snoring in their bed rolls. Guns are stacked everywhere. Outside our shelter, some relative of the cricket is singing a monotonous chorus. Niki is chatting up the other ghosts.

There. This letter is so boring, you probably are skimming through to the end.

I think about your standing proposal all the time. I wish I could accept right now and fly to your side. But for now, I'm going to climb into my sleeping bag and pretend I'm sleeping in your arms.

Your lonely Lethia

* * *

_To: Guardian Lethia Mar_

_Reef-network communications relay_

_Encrypted message follows_

My dear Lethia,

Your letters are not boring! I reread the last one three times in a row. It reminds me of all the times I camped on Venus. Are the mosquitoes as bad as ever?

I'm eating fairly well, I suppose. There's a little shop that serves these rolled sandwich things, and I've been eating there. As it turns out, the Taken attacked population centers and ignored the rural areas. There's lots of food and no one to eat it. We're trying to stockpile or preserve as much as we can, so as to waste as little as possible. One of my businesses is a vegetable cannery, so I know a depressingly large amount about this.

I've reprimanded the manager who was bowing to me. I can tolerate a lot of things, but disrespect isn't one of them. He wanted to punch me so badly. But I went to that meeting wearing my armor, and he didn't quite dare tangle with a Guardian. I guess being an undead warrior has its perks.

I've spent the last week inspecting a series of caverns for a potential town site. The stone is good, solid granite, and there are gaps that let in daylight in places. I've got a couple of engineers designing the place. This part of my job is fun and interesting. I wish I could take you through and show you the plans.

There are refugees crowded into all the existing towns - people like you who fled the cities during the invasion. I met with some of them today to discuss housing needs. Lethia, you can't believe what they've been through. Families missing parents or children. Couples split and hoping to find each other. So many orphaned children being looked after by bereaved parents. It's heartbreaking.

Although ... I suppose you know exactly what they've been through.

Light, I treated you so badly when we crashed on Mars. I was so focused on Banner's injuries, it never occurred to me that you had escaped the Taken. How are you not suffering PTSD as bad as mine? My poor Lethia.

With regrets and longing,

Ferral

* * *

_To: Kymil Elvaris Dasa_

_Dispatched from Vanguard, Earth base, Russian division_

_Confidential missive enclosed_

Dear Ferral,

Don't blame yourself. I certainly don't. I hated you because you were a Guardian, and I shrivel inside at the things I said to you. But I suppose I am scarred from the Taken - I do have nightmares about them. But your problems are so much worse, I guess I downplay my own. Guardian training has helped, too. Studying them removed some of the dread.

I hope to see the completed settlements someday! The way you write about them excites me. Our people will be forever grateful to you.

My team has been reassigned to Old Russia. The Fallen are ripping apart the old Cosmodrome and these old colony ships, and we've been sent to investigate. Earth used to be thickly inhabited, and I see why. Even this far north, the climate is better than most places on the Reef. It's strange to think that my ancestors boarded ships exactly like these, only to encounter death in the heavens.

I've sat here for several minutes, trying to put this into words.

My Void power is increasing.

The more I use it to steal life, the easier it is. The Fallen use Arc Light in their weapons and shields. I absorb it and pour it into Niki. It makes him hyper and kind of bonkers. I'm not sure that giving Arc Light to a Void ghost is a good idea.

On the other hand, I've begun to enjoy powering up while killing our enemies, and it bothers me. Doesn't that make me the same as the Hive, feeding off death? Part of me fears this bloodthirsty creature I'm becoming.

Then we rescued a group of refugees from the Fallen, and my regrets vanished. The Fallen had cut the right arms off all of them as a sign of scorn.

Using my Voidwalker powers seems too good a death for beings like that.

I'm curled up in my blankets, writing this and hoping you won't hate me. Being honest is hard. So is being a Guardian. Niki sends his regards.

Love,

Your Lethia

* * *

_Private message from Ghost ID: Niki_

_To Ghost ID: Banner_

_Light transfer_

Hello, Banner! I'm worried about Lethia, and I wanted your opinion.

Our Guardians are pining for each other, judging by their correspondence. Lethia has been trying to avoid her loneliness by sinking herself into her Voidwalker practices. She's rapidly improving her combat skills. As her ghost, this delights me.

At the same time, she's vastly ashamed of her power. She's been giving me small doses of Arc Light, which makes my core all hot and crackly. Last time she did, she held me and cried. When I asked why, she said that she likes killing, and that she's let Ferral down.

I don't think this prolonged separation is good for our Guardians. If you're in agreement, I suggest that we find a way to get them together.

Niki

* * *

_Private message from Ghost ID: Banner_

_To Ghost ID: Niki_

_Light transfer_

Hello, Niki

I share your concerns about our Guardians. Ferral doesn't write to Lethia about how stressed he is, or how people treat him. He and I are struggling with depression and flashbacks. I hate to say it, but I triggered his last one. One of his nasty underlings made some remark about selling dead ghosts to some Fallen collector. All I could think about was that Hive wizard taking a ghost and ...

Well. I don't want to give you nightmares, too.

But yes, Lethia is such a good influence on Ferral. I think half his depression stems from missing her. The other half ... he hasn't slept more than four hours a night in the past month. He's not eating well, and he feels so isolated. This is a terrible job. He'd never say so - my Guardian is so honorable - but this position was never meant to be a solo one. That's why it was run by a whole clan. There used to be thirty-eight shareholders, and each of them had dozens and dozens of family members all running things. Now, it's only Ferral.

Honestly, Niki, I'm afraid of what might happen if he and Lethia stay separated much longer. If my Guardian doesn't completely fall apart, I'm afraid someone will try to assassinate him. I've overheard whispered conversations about how to kill a ghost.

If you have a plan to get them together, please share it. This place is more dangerous than a battlefield. The bullets that fly around here are made of words.

Banner

* * *

_To: Guardian Lethia Mar_

_Reef-network communications relay_

_Encrypted message follows_

Dear Lethia,

Why would I ever despise you for learning to use your own power? Might I remind you that I use Void Light, too? I know the way it tugs you toward the Darker side of things. At the same time, it's such a useful tool. Be aware, but don't be afraid.

If you were here, I'd kiss you and smooth away the worried line from between your eyebrows. I'd take you to my favorite places to eat and get your opinion. I'd take you to the town we're building. I'd show you the communications tower we just put in. Then we'd go to this wonderful overlook I found and just talk for hours. Then, if you'd let me, I'd caress you and make love to you.

That would drive away the fears of Void Light, I'm certain.

Work continues, but I've gained little loyalty from my employees. They grumble about how hard I work them. They compare me to my brothers and father.

This distresses me, though I can't show it. I don't remember my father or my brothers. I read their ledgers and wonder, am I capable of doing their job? How do I know if I'm making good decisions? Delsaran questions every order I give. The fellow's good, but he watches me. I can't describe how tiring it is to not be able to trust anyone. I know I can trust you. But you know how badly I need you.

Your lonely Guardian,

Ferral

* * *

_To: Kymil Elvaris Dasa_

_Dispatched from Vanguard, Earth base, Russian division_

_Confidential missive enclosed_

Dear Ferral,

Your last letter made me want to sneak away from Earth and fling myself into your arms.

It also made me want to introduce your entire employee pool to the wonders of Void Light.

Seriously, if they don't start respecting you, then the Traveler help me, I will come out there and make them fear you. Delsaran in particular. I knew I didn't like him from the minute he smirked at me back at the Reformation.

But that's no way to talk, is it? I shouldn't be plotting violence against fellow Awoken. I'm afraid I'm growing used to killing and inflicting pain. When I think of you, alone and tired and sick, this black wave of violence sweeps over me. And the really scary thing is that I'm not sorry.

We're still fighting Fallen, but they're sneaky and avoid us. Work is slow. Yesterday it poured sleet most of the day. Even with Niki healing me, I can't feel my feet most of the time. It was miserable. We ended up camping inside a colony ship just to get out of the wet, which was ... interesting. They were designed for colonists in zero G, so walking around in a vertically-oriented one was like navigating a building set on end.

I've brooded about your last message all day. I'm worried about you, Ferral. Somehow, I've got to make it out there to you.

Love and hugs,

Lethia

* * *

_Private message from Ghost ID: Banner_

_To Ghost ID: Niki_

_Light transfer_

Niki,

Please find a way to dispatch Lethia here. This is an SOS.

Today Ferral was walking across the compound when someone shot him. I'm not certain who - they fired from a third-story window and fled the scene afterward. The bullet didn't quite kill Ferral. It entered his ribcage above the sternum and exited out his middle back. It missed his heart, but that was just about the only critical organ it did miss. I healed him for five solid minutes.

Ferral is angry and frightened. Had I happened to be out at the time, they would have likely killed me. I'm under instructions to remain phased at all times.

The situation here is deteriorating. Delsaran is using this as an excuse to say that Ferral is weak and unable to protect himself. He wants Ferral to move about under guard at all times. Delsaran's chosen members of the loyal Eliksni house for this. You have no idea how uncomfortable it is to have two beefy Fallen in armor shadowing you everywhere. I'm afraid of what they might do.

There are Hive weapons that can kill a Guardian without harming their ghost - and I mean extinguishing their spark, permanently. I've sensed patches of Darkness lately that I fear might be related to such weapons.

Please send help.

Banner

* * *

_Private message from Ghost ID: Niki_

_To Ghost ID: Banner_

_Light transfer_

Banner,

I shared your message with Lethia. She flew into a rage, which I've never seen her do before. She became very quiet and still, the opposite of what you might expect. Then she went outside and blasted holes in a ruined car in the rain.

Don't let this get back to the Vanguard, but I've resorted to a hack. Just a little one. I've forged a new mission for her in the Vanguard database and made the header exactly match orders sent by Command. Next week, she'll be pulled off the fire team and be sent to the Reef. Her mission is to support another Guardian already stationed here (Ferral). When she arrives, you'll need to add a confirmation to the file.

I feel bad about this. A little. But I have to do something, and the Vanguard had no intention of sending her past Mars for the next year. If my hack is found out, I'll take the blame. But this is a good way to get our Guardians together, isn't it?

Be careful, Banner. Humans are funny about power and money, and there's a lot of those involved in this.

Niki


	18. Reunion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks for Trecheon for contributing a scene!

"...The sudden appearance of this order is what troubles me." Zavala crossed his arms.

Lethia shifted, unsure of what to do next. "Commander, the orders given are clear. I'm to head to the Reef and -"

"Provide support to a Guardian currently stationed there." Zavala pursed his lips. "Meaning Ferral."

Lethia's gaze dropped to the floor. This had seemed like it was too good to be true, but she missed Ferral so badly that she wanted to believe it.

It was at this moment that Cayde-6 made his way to the command center with his usual swagger. "Hey guys. What'd I miss?

Ikora rolled her eyes at her compatriot and slid a datapad across the table. "Cayde, I swear that one day, your tardiness will be the death of us all. Lethia reported back from her deployment in Old Russia. She has new deployment orders for the reef, but there's nothing that indicates an encryption signature from one of us." She looked to her student. "Lethia, I know how badly you'd like to go out there. But, as it stands, if we can't resolve this, I'm afraid we can't authorize your..."

She was interrupted by a chuckle from Cayde.

"As I was saying..." Ikora tried to continue, but Cayde's laughter grew, much to the chagrin of his fellow Vanguard commanders. As he finally calmed down, he typed away on his pad.

"Cayde, what are you doing?" Zavala had unfurled his arms, his brows now furrowed.

Cayde finished typing as his shoulders shook. "Oh, I'm sorry Zavala. I guess I forgot my signature on that order when I put it out this morning." One of his eyes dimmed as he winked at Lethia. "My bad."

Lethia's heart was suddenly awash with a surge of joy. She snapped up almost immediately. "So that means..."

Zavala grumbled. "Yes, that means you are cleared for dispatch to the Reef. See shipwright Holiday for any resupply you may need and head out. Good luck, Guardian."

Ikora sidled her way to Cayde, nudging him in the ribs.

"What?" The Exo looked up.

"Ophiuchus did a thorough analysis of of that order. You and I both know that you didn't make it." She whispered.

Cayde chuckled. "Hey, I may be a robot, but that don't mean I've got no heart." He stopped. "Well..."

Ikora's eyes rolled. "So you're willing to take the fall so she can..." She paused. "What, see her boyfriend?"

"I've been getting reports from Banner. Made 'im promise to keep me up-to-date on Ferral. Otherwise he might get a little too 'Night,' not enough 'Stalker,' if you catch my drift."

"And?" Ikora pressed.

"It's getting rough. Apparently Ferral was attacked the other day by a Sniper, and there's been talk of how to kill a Ghost that Banner's picked up on." He shrugged. "Put it like this, I'd have made that order in a few day's time anyhow."

Ikora let a slight smile grace her lips. "He needs his partner."

Cayde returned the grin. "He needs his partner."

* * *

Reefedge City was eerily quiet as Lethia disembarked from her ship. The Taken had attacked only living things. Buildings stood pristine and empty, the goods still in the shop windows. Vehicles lined the streets, abandoned by their owners. There weren't even any bodies of the slain. The city was simply empty.

The Dasa compound lay at the city's western end, up on a forested hill. The buildings resembled a palace, with graceful, sweeping lines, several towers, and beautifully maintained grounds within a ten foot fence.

Lethia approached the gates and spoke to the security speaker beside them. "Hello, I'm here to see Kymil Elvaris."

"Identify yourself," replied a cautious male voice.

Lethia glared at the speaker. "Guardian Lethia Mar. I've been dispatched by the Vanguard."

"One minute." The guard made her wait nearly ten. Lethia had time to ponder whether to blast the gate down, or simply jump over it with her Light powers.

"He agrees to meet with you," the guard finally said, sounding unwilling. One of the gates clicked and swung open. Lethia walked through and followed a long gravel drive through the park-like grounds toward the main building.

"I've heard this place is amazing inside," she told Niki. "They used to give tours once a year. The Dasas collected all kinds of art and rare goods from the different planets. I imagine it's all still there."

Niki, safely phased, replied in her head, "The Taken certainly weren't interested in material goods. Only minds. That poor city is just ... sitting there."

"I know," Lethia thought. "It makes me sick, seeing it that way. All those people. Gone."

She neared the main building, which resembled a castle, with narrow windows and arched doorways. As she approached the front door, it opened. A man in a servant uniform held it for her, gazing straight ahead, showing her neither courtesy nor discourtesy.

"And this is how much the Awoken hate Guardians," she thought to Niki.

She entered a lavishly decorated front room with halls branching in four directions. Ornate stone vases and statues on plinths competed with paintings on the walls that hearkened back to before Earth's Golden Age. A broad staircase spiraled toward the second floor. Slowly descending the staircase, flanked by two Fallen warriors, was Ferral.

Lethia stared at him in dismay. This was not the Hunter she had snubbed on Mars. This was Kymil Elvaris Dasa, dressed in a black suit trimmed with crimson. His white-streaked hair was neatly trimmed, and he moved with stately grace, befitting the last of the Dasas. He descended the stairs one step at a time, his pale eyes fixed somewhere above her head.

"What's happened to him?" she thought to Niki.

"He's playing the role," Niki replied.

Ferral reached the foot of the stairs and approached her, extending a hand. "Welcome, Guardian. I appreciate your assistance."

Nervously, Lethia took his hand. It was hot and sweaty, as if the suit was far too warm. Then she looked into his eyes and saw the controlled desperation there.

"Please accompany me to my office," he said, turning toward the stairs. The two Fallen guards regarded Lethia balefully, but fell into step behind the Guardians as they climbed the stairs.

"Welcome to the Dasa compound," Ferral said, gesturing. "Home of the Dasa clan since our emergence from the Distributary. I've brought you in as extra security during a corporate reshuffling period." In a whisper, he added, "Play along."

Lethia glanced at the guards, whose four eyes held no expression. Their insignia marked them as House of Wolves, the only Fallen House loyal to Queen Mara Sov. But without the Queen, how friendly were they to the Awoken at all?

"I understand, sir," she said in a clear voice for anyone to hear. "The Vanguard sends their regards. I understand you're helping rebuild the Reef?"

"In a manner of speaking," Ferral replied. He glanced at her sideways, sweat gleaming on his forehead. "Times are hard for our people. We need all the help anyone will give us."

It wasn't only the Awoken who needed help, Lethia thought.

They arrived on the second story landing. The stairs continued upward for another flight. Beneath their shadow was a pair of double doors engraved with graceful geometric patterns. Ferral went to these and opened one. He motioned for Lethia to enter, then spoke to the guards. "Remain outside, please."

The aliens nodded and took up positions on either side of the door. Ferral closed the door and bolted it, locking the two Guardians inside, alone.

Then he turned to Lethia, threw his arms around her, and buried his face in her neck. She felt him shaking.

"Lethia," he whispered over and over. "Lethia. You're here. You're finally here."

She wrapped her arms around him and held him tightly, willing the shaking to subside. "It's all right," she whispered. "I'm here. I won't leave you again." She nuzzled his hair, his cheek, pressing her lips to his skin. He smelled clean, but the clothes had given him an unfamiliar aroma - the vaguely perfumed scent of aristocracy.

He stroked her hair and kissed her neck, as if he could communicate his agony of loneliness through touch. "You have no idea what it's been like," he whispered. "Someone tried to kill me once already. I've been so - so alone -"

"I'm here," Lethia whispered, stroking the streaks in his hair. He was so utterly vulnerable at that moment, so raw and open, that her black, protective anger began to build inside. Someone had hurt Ferral, threatened him, left him trembling in her arms like this. Her inner Void Light began to burn. Her arms tightened around him, pulling him closer, as if she could shelter him in her embrace. "I'm here, and I'm going to kill whoever did this to you."

He pulled away and looked at her, his golden eyes red-rimmed and watery. "Is it wrong that I think that's the most wonderful thing you've ever said?" He tugged at his tight collar, made a disgusted sound, then stripped off the red and black suit coat. He flung it on a nearby chair. "I hate these clothes!" He turned back to Lethia, now in a white button-up shirt, and cupped her face in both hands. "My darling Lethia. Thank you for coming."

She stroked his face, too, smoothing his eyebrows, tracing the birthmark on his forehead. "I've wanted to see you again since about two seconds after you left. And I'm serious. Whoever has done this to you will die."

He laughed weakly. "It's every single one of my employees. They all hate me. Any one of them would gladly have pulled the trigger."

Lethia had a moment to glance around the office. It was a whole suite, with a desk, chair and cabinets in the front room. Other doors opened to the left and right, showing living quarters. The walls were engraved stone, with more expensive paintings here and there. Alcoves on either side of every door displayed huge chunks of glimmering blue crystal.

Ferral followed her gaze. "Impressive, isn't it? This was my second-eldest brother's quarters. Delsaran offered me my father's office, but it's even more pretentious than this place."

She turned back to him and took his hand. "How are you, really? Your letters didn't tell me everything."

He covered their joined hands with his other. He stood there a moment, gazing at their hands with a pensive look, as if debating what to tell her.

"Fer," she whispered, "you can be honest with me. I'm on your side one hundred percent."

He smiled and blinked rapidly, his eyes filling with tears. "You don't know ... it's been so long ... Leth, I'm exhausted. And I can't kick this depression. Some days I can barely get out of bed. Banner can't heal it."

"Are you sleeping well?"

"No. I'm almost as bad off as I was in the shack in the woods. But now I have to hide it."

Lethia studied his face, his downcast eyes. Through their joined hands, she felt his Light. It wavered strangely, different from when she had begun treating him.

"Ferral," she said, "when they shot you ... what kind of weapon was it?"

"Some kind of rifle," Ferral said. "I heard the report, then I was on the ground, dying. I didn't have much time for analysis."

"Banner, did you notice anything?"

Banner appeared, his green shell gleaming like jade. "What are you driving at, Lethia? It was a bullet wound. Large caliber. I've healed that kind before."

Lethia bit her lip. "Ferral, you're eaten up with Darkness inside. Your Light is ..." She almost said _Taken_. "... strange. Worse than unstable. Have you heard voices?"

"No," he said, head bowed. "Only the sadness. Here." He touched his chest. "Huge, crushing sadness. Nothing changes it."

She drew a deep breath. "Do you want me to work on you now? It'll put you to sleep."

Ferral looked as if she had promised him heaven. "Sleep! I wish I could sleep for days. But I have a pile of work to do this afternoon." He pointed at the desk, where stacks of papers awaited him.

Lethia squeezed his hand. "I'll help you. Show me what to do."

The rest of the afternoon was spent in reading reports, signing work orders and shipping manifests. Lethia read and Ferral signed. It was tedious, quiet work, but Lethia found that she didn't mind. After freezing in Old Russia, sitting in that expansive office was like a vacation.

With Ferral. His very presence comforted her, relaxed that tight place in her heart. Apart, she worried about him constantly. But now, here he was, within reach.

Her presence had the same effect on him. Often she looked up to see him studying her, or felt his hand on her arm. He had to reassure himself, over and over, that she was really there.

After a while, Lethia sat back and summoned Niki. "Hey, could you read these and summarize them?"

"Sure," Niki said. "Turn the pages for me."

Lethia did, paging through an eighteen-page report as quickly as she could. When she finished, Niki said, "The accountant at Dome Twelve is embezzling."

Ferral straightened. "What." But the tired way he said it showed he'd suspected something of the sort.

Niki explained the numbers given in the report, coming up with a substantial shortfall masked by percentages and purposefully vague reporting.

Ferral sat back in his chair, eyes closed, pinching the bridge of his nose. When Niki finished, he said, "See what I put up with? Every single company is rife with corruption."

"So sell them off," Lethia said. "Who says you have to keep every one of them? Or any? You could dump it all and go back to being a Guardian."

He gazed at her a long moment through layers of exhaustion. "I think, if I could sleep and recover, I'd have the nerve to do that."

"Come on, then." Lethia rose from her chair. "I may have to work on your Light for quite a while."

* * *

Lethia sat in a chair beside Ferral's huge bed. He lay on the bed, eyes shut, holding her hand. In her other hand, she held his ghost. Between them, she had a stereo sense of their Light.

When Ferral had escaped the Dreadnaught, he had brought with him a pall of fear that had eclipsed his connection with the Traveler. Lethia had spent lots of time trying to stabilize his spark's wild fluctuations. That pall was still there.

But something new had crept in. As Lethia used her own Void Light to stabilize his and Banner's sparks, she touched something else within Ferral's soul. Sticky, shapeless Darkness slithered inside him. It encircled his spark, trying to strangle it, trying to cut him off from the Traveler's power forever.

"Ferral," she whispered, "I think ... what do you know about the Taken?"

He opened his eyes and gave her a nervous look. "Do I want to know why you're asking?"

"Just ... what do you know?"

He gazed at the ceiling. "They're living beings who have been consumed by Darkness. Most have their free will stripped away. Some don't."

Lethia hesitated to ask the next question. "How does ... Taking ... work?"

Ferral's voice dropped to a hoarse whisper. "It feeds on desire. You have to _want_."

Lethia didn't have to close her eyes to feel the Darkness chewing on Ferral's soul. "What do you want?"

He looked at her, his gaze full of tenderness. "All I want is you."

As he said the words, the Darkness clawed at his spark. Ferral's Light dimmed. He drew a harsh breath and his eyes unfocused.

Lethia snarled and lashed it with her Void Light. "I don't know where you came from or what you are, but you get out of him this instant!" She honed her Light into a spear and drove it through the Darkness.

It swirled apart into flying patches and rags, but she couldn't purge them all. Ferral's spark flared up and burned steadily.

He groaned. "Whatever you did ... I feel better."

Lethia released his hand and ghost, and slumped back in her chair, panting. "Ferral, I know Guardians can't be Taken. But some Darkness thing inside you is trying damn hard."

"I felt it," he said. "And I felt when you hit it. Is it gone?"

"No," Lethia said angrily. "It retreated, that's all. I think it'll take both of us to kill it. And you have to stop wanting. It's feeding off that."

"As long as you're here," Ferral said, "I'll want for nothing."

She leaned forward and stroked his face. "I hope that's true. Rest."

"I think ... I could, now." He smiled at her, then rolled onto his side and pulled the blanket over himself. Banner settled himself on the pillow beside his head.

In the minute it took Lethia to rise and tiptoe out of the room, Ferral was already snoring.

Lethia paced around the outer office, her mind churning with disparate thoughts. She held out a hand. "Niki?"

The ghost appeared, his yellow shell a flash of color in the dim room.

"What are we dealing with, here?" she asked. "Ferral has some kind of Darkness entity in him. Is it from his time on the Dreadnaught?"

Niki flew in circles, thinking. "When we treated him back in the forest shack ... he was sick, then. Banner said he was insane, remember? His Light was unstable."

"I remember," Lethia replied. "But I don't remember there being this ... thing in there, interfering."

Niki faced her, his blue eye concerned. "Do you think it had something to do with when he was shot? Banner thought there were Darkness weapons around here."

Lethia pulled out her sidearm and checked the magazine, just to give her hands something to do. "When I was training in the Tower, people were telling this story about a dark Guardian named Dregden Yor. His gun, Thorn, fired a projectile that could extinguish a Guardian's spark. Apparently, someone had found it, and Banshee was taking it apart. But ... what if there's other weapons like that? And what if someone shot Ferral with one?"

"He should have died," Niki pointed out. "It should have quenched his spark."

"But he didn't die from the bullet," Lethia pointed out. "It only wounded him. Maybe it would have ended him if he had died. Instead, he's ... poisoned. With this ... Darkness fragment. And it's trying to kill him or Take him, I can't tell which."

"It amounts to the same thing," Niki muttered.

Lethia paced back and forth. The opulent office with its glittering, otherworldly stones in the wall alcoves seemed like a sprung trap. Poor Ferral was caught in its teeth, pinned between duty and ravenous Darkness. Someone wanted him dead, probably so they could take over the Dasa holdings.

All she wanted to do was step into that space where he was weakest and defend him.

"I need to find out what weapon they used," she said. "And to do that, I need to know who used it. Better phase, Niki. I'm going to find the high and mighty Delsaran and ask a few questions."


	19. Negotiations

Ferral was drowning.

He floundered in a vast, cold sea, the sky overhead blank and starless. The sea had no bottom. He had been swimming for ages, fighting the waves, trying to keep his head above water. But he was so tired. His limbs would barely move anymore. And the waves grew ever higher, rising above his head.

"Banner," he panted. "Show me the way home!"

"I can't," whispered the ghost. And he was there in the water, too, floating, his blue eye fixed desperately on Ferral.

Ferral grabbed him. "Hold on, Ban, I've got you."

"So ... tired," Banner whispered.

Ferral tried to float, but this water didn't allow that. He either kept moving or he slipped beneath the surface. Beneath him waited nothing but Darkness, waiting to devour him for being weak, for serving the Light, for daring to defy it with love and kindness.

He looked to the blank sky. "Traveler," he gasped. "Help me.

But the Traveler slept, deaf to his plea. No Light appeared.

The Deeps encircled him and he sank. Fought to the surface, trying to save himself and Banner.

Sank again.

Limbs too weary to swim any longer.

He inhaled water.

Sank deeper until he could no longer find the surface.

Drowning.

Cold.

Pain.

Darkness.

* * *

Ferral awoke with a cry and sat up, tearing off the strangling blankets. He was tangled in them. It was so dark. Where was he? Had the Darkness claimed him?

"Banner!" he screamed.

A light clicked on. A lamp. Gasping, Ferral realized he was in his room in the Dasa compound, and he'd managed to wrap every blanket on the bed around himself. Lethia stood beside the lamp in her undershirt, blinking sleepily.

Banner phased out of the blankets, where he'd been buried. He swung and staggered in the air, disoriented, then flew to Ferral.

Ferral clutched him close. "I'm sorry," he stammered. "We were drowning in the Deeps."

"It's all right," Lethia murmured, sitting on the edge of the bed. "I'm right here."

Then Ferral had his arms around her, breathing the fragrance of her hair, feeling the softness of her skin. He held her and let the shakes take over, the ones that had plagued him so often lately. She gently lifted Banner out of his hand and cradled him in her free arm. Banner closed his eye.

Her Void Light calmed them, balancing the terror that flickered within them both. She gently reconnected Ferral to the Traveler's Light, helping him find that part of himself the Darkness had tried to drown.

"Why is this happening?" he whispered. "I'm falling apart, Leth."

She let Banner go, then stroked Ferral's hair. "I talked to Delsaran about who shot you."

"You did?" Ferral exclaimed in astonishment. "He actually spoke to you?"

Lethia smiled wolffishly. "People are really compliant when you hold them at gun point."

The mental image of Delsaran at gun point made Ferral chuckle. It felt good to laugh about something. It had been a long time since he had laughed.

She went on, "He insisted that he's on your side. But there's politics happening in the Reef since the invasion. Have you ever heard of the Ascendant Hand?"

"Aren't they a cult?" Ferral said. "A bunch of nut jobs who think we should join the Hive or something?"

"They're a lot more than that," Lethia went on. "They've actually been planning to join the war against the Traveler and the Guardians. The Queen kept them in check, but they were useful as sources of information on the Hive, so she let them exist. But she's gone, and they've decided to speed things along. They've actually commissioned weapons from the Hive. One of the experimental models was used on you as a test."

Ferral considered this, bitterly. "I didn't know the Hive accepted anything but death as currency."

"You don't want to know," Lethia said. "Seriously, don't ask. But the point is, the Ascendant Hand had people ready to take over the Dasa properties. They need money and businesses to finance their war machine. Then Delsaran found you. He's using you as a shield against them, believe it or not. He hoped that you, being a Guardian, would intimidate them into backing down."

"Let me guess," Ferral said. "They weren't intimidated."

"No, actually," Lethia replied. "They're terrified of you. Especially when they hit you with this Darkness weapon and you didn't die. I think Delsaran could tell us more."

Ferral sat there a moment, thinking about this, trying to ignore the memory of sinking and drowning. "We'll definitely do that in the morning. And ... what are you doing in here, anyway?"

"Sleeping on that sofa over there," she replied. "I haven't accepted your marriage proposal yet."

A sofa across the room had blankets and a pillow on it. Ferral wished, powerfully, that she was sleeping with him, instead. Not for sex - just the comfort of having her within reach, helping to keep the nightmares at bay. Falling asleep with his arms around her sounded so relaxing.

Although, sex would be pleasant, too.

She got up, and he reluctantly released her. "Rest," she told him. "You've only been out for six hours, and that's not nearly enough."

He straightened out the twisted blankets and lay down again. Lethia turned out the light and returned to the sofa.

Ferral gazed into the dark and was thankful she was at least in the room with him.

"Lethia?"

"Hm?"

"Where did you grow up?"

She sighed. "Years ago, Reefedge was a lot smaller. We lived in this tiny neighborhood in the filter forests. I was born after the migration, and after the Awoken split and went to Earth. Mara Sov was encouraging big families to build the population back up, but my parents were only able to have my sister and me. There were lots of other children to play with, though ..."

She kept talking about light, comfortable things. Ferral listened. He had no memories of his own childhood, but he could infer it, partially from what he had learned about the Dasas, and partly from Lethia's storytelling. He would have had lots of siblings, and would have moved between the Dasa compounds seasonally. But knowing what he knew about the icy disposition of his family, his childhood was likely not a happy one. Maybe not being able to remember it was a blessing.

He dozed off with Lethia's soft voice in his ears, and slept without dreams the rest of the night.

* * *

Delsaran was working in his office the next day when the Guardians walked in.

He looked up warily. Dasa wasn't so bad - he had good days and bad days - but that warlock was downright awful. She had pointed a gun in Delsaran's face, and she probably would have used it, too.

"Can I help you?" Delsaran said, keeping his face blank.

"Yes," Dasa said. "I have a few things to discuss." He picked up a chair from its spot near the wall and set it facing Dalsaran's desk. The warlock did the same.

Dalsaran grimaced. His office was arranged just so to aid the energy flow throughout the room, focused on the three narrow windows in the far wall. Now he'd have to fool with the chairs again to situate them properly.

Dasa said without preamble, "Lethia told me about the Hive weapon that was used on me."

Delsaran nodded. "Yes?" He still didn't know why the Guardian hadn't died.

"Do you know who used it?"

"I have my suspicions," Delsaran replied. "I highly doubt any of your workforce were involved, if that's what you're asking. They may not care for Guardians, but they care for the Ascendant Hand even less."

"So, it was a member of the Hand?"

Delsaran shrugged. "As I said, all I have are suspicions, not proof."

Dasa looked better today - not quite so gaunt and weary. But the warlock looked so hard and fierce, Delsaran wondered what Dasa saw in her.

"Del," said Dasa, "I want to sell several of the businesses. But I don't want the Hand to get them. Would you help me do that?"

Ah, that's what this was about. Delsaran arched an eyebrow. "I thought you would dump them long before this. You don't intend to sell them all?"

"No," Dasa replied. "I want to retain the two construction companies. Our people need places to live, and I want to see that the construction is done right. But the rest - it's too much. I just don't want to sell to the Hand."

Delsaran's respect for Dasa increased. This was a reasonable, thoughtful request. While it would vastly diminish the Dasa holdings, it would keep the company running for many more years.

"I never expected such a request from a Guardian," Delsaran said with a smirk. "Perhaps a little of your family's blood still flows in your veins. Very well. I will compile a list of prospective buyers for each company. I should have them by this afternoon. You will need to make the initial contact, but I can handle negotiations. You will need to be present."

Dasa nodded. "I understand."

But the warlock rose from her seat, drawing her sidearm. She gripped it in both hands, not quite aiming it at Delsaran. "I swear, if you make one more crack about him being a Guardian, you won't like what happens."

Delsaran eyed her cautiously. "Ma'am, you couldn't possibly understand the differences of opinion between Guardians and the Reefborn."

"Yes, I can," she snapped. "I grew up here, and I didn't have to die to become a Guardian. I know exactly how you think. And you'd better keep those remarks to yourself."

She had never died? How was that possible? Delsaran looked her up and down, unsure how to react. Best to be very polite to an angry woman with a gun.

"My apologies, ma'am," he replied. "I'll endeavor to be more respectful."

She slowly sat back down in her chair, holstering her weapon. "You'd better."

Delsaran called her several names in the privacy of his head. Then he turned to Dasa. "Right. Let's get started, then."

* * *

Lethia kept an eye on the alien bodyguards.

Unlike Ferral, who only knew the Fallen as enemies, Lethia was used to seeing them around the Reef as allies. Their spider-like limbs and eyes held no fear for her.

That afternoon, while Ferral was closeted with Delsaran to contact potential buyers, Lethia took the bodyguards out for a drink.

The compound had a small canteen that served both Awoken and Eliksni. Lethia invited the guards and set them up with tall ether bottles. Ether was a smoky substance generated by Eliksni-crafted robot Servitors. The aliens depended on it to survive, even though they were technically capable of consuming solid foods.

The aliens accepted the ether in silence. They didn't care for Guardians at all. So Lethia asked them in perfect Eliksni, "What are your names?"

Both aliens jumped and stared at her. Their faces held no expression, but their body posture conveyed surprise.

"You speak our tongue?" one of them said. It was a growling, guttural language, mostly pronounced at the back of the throat.

"I am Reefborn," Lethia replied. "There were always Eliksni in my town when I was small. I played with their young. I was not always a Guardian."

The aliens gestured at each other with their third and fourth arms. This was the Eliksni version of whispering.

"Can we trust her?"

"Negative. Trust no Guardian."

Lethia, having only two arms, had to use the gestures of a Dreg. "You are wise. But I mean no harm."

Caught, the aliens stared at her.

"What are your names?" she repeated aloud. "I am Lethia Mar."

One alien glanced at his companion, then said slowly, "Yarniks."

"Creviks," the other said.

"It is good to know you," Lethia said, smiling without showing her teeth. "I am here to protect Kymil Elvaris, as you are."

Yarniks made a gesture of dismissal. "Guardians need no protection. We here because the Dasa clan was good to our House."

"He was shot, though," Lethia pointed out. She kept herself very patient, as she had learned to be when playing with young Eliksni. The aliens were slow to trust, but loyal allies once that trust was gained.

Creviks said, "Yes, so? He is not dead. Guardians do not need us."

"Guardians do not always know their true enemies," Lethia pointed out. "What do you know of the Ascendant Hand?"

Both aliens growled and shifted their weight from side to side.

"Fools," Yarniks spat. "They wish to deal with the Hive. The Hive do not deal. They consume."

Lethia made an affirmative gesture. She'd forgotten how much she enjoyed talking to Eliksni and seeing their perspective.

"Steward Delsaran believes that the Ascendant Hand used Hive weapons to try to kill Kymil Elvaris. Do you agree?"

The aliens made noncommittal gestures. "Perhaps," Creviks said. "An Awoken fired a weapon and wounded the Guardian. Beyond that, we could not identify them."

Lethia doubted this, knowing how sensitive the Eliksni were to scent and electrical aura, things humans only dimly sensed.

"If that person drew close once more," she said, "could you point them out to me?"

The aliens made gestures that passed as a shrug. "You are a Guardian," Creviks said. "What have we to do with you?"

They were stonewalling. Lethia sighed inwardly. At least they had talked to her a little.

She made the gestures for thanks. "Favor upon your House for speaking with me."

The traditional reply to this was 'and also upon yours', but the aliens didn't give it. They only stared at her, impassively.

Lethia left, and they returned to their posts.


	20. Ambush

That evening, Ferral took Lethia out to eat.

Despite its apparent emptiness, people still lived in Reefedge. They were trying to pick up the pieces of their wrecked lives, and running their businesses was one way of doing that.

Lethia and Ferral had their choice of the outdoor dining tables. They selected one at the edge of the shaded veranda, where they could see across the town to the mountains beyond, where the sun was setting behind the atmospheric mists.

"Today was a beginning," Ferral told her. "Everyone I talked to was interested in negotiating for buying out a business. It's going to take months, though. Thank the Light for Delsaran. He tells me what to do so I don't come off as a complete idiot."

"Months," Lethia mused. "Do you ever worry about the Vanguard coming after you? Medical leave doesn't last forever. I'm not stationed here forever, either."

Ferral toyed with his fork for a long moment. "I've been thinking about that. Once the dust settles, I want to open the compound to Guardians as a base of operations. Give them one friendly spot out here in the Reef. We'd need to be permanently stationed here."

Lethia's blue-green eyes brightened. "That's a good idea! As much blood as we've shed out here, I think the Vanguard has earned a foothold in the Reef." She smiled mischievously. "Do you want me to handle the negotiations?"

Ferral laughed. It was easier to laugh, ever since she had attacked the Dark thing tormenting him. The crushing sadness had lightened, if not completely vanished.

"Go right ahead," he told her.

They watched the sun paint the misty sky in fiery bands of orange and magenta. The many small moons of the asteroid field began to shine in the darkening sky.

The pair paid for their meal and walked back to the compound, taking a roundabout route. Ferral took Lethia to one of his favorite overlooks. A short, steep climb up a rocky hillside soon gave way to a small, flat summit overlooking the city and the forests beyond. In the twilight, the trees were a mysterious violet, with clouds lapping them, like the sea.

The Guardians sat on the rock and let their ghosts out to enjoy the view.

"Reminds me of the ocean," Banner said dreamily. "The ocean on a fine evening in late summer."

"But quieter," Niki said. "There's no gulls."

Lethia leaned against Ferral and put an arm around his waist. His arm encircled her, and they sat there together, watching the dusk slowly turn to night.

Ferral said quietly, "Have you thought about ... you know ... the standing proposal?"

"Yes," Lethia whispered. "Often."

"Do you have an answer, yet?" Ferral's heart beat faster.

Lethia didn't answer for a while. She rubbed his back and gazed at the brilliant stars and tiny moons.

"I want to marry you," she said at last. "I just don't know if there's any officials left who can perform the ceremony."

His arm tightened around her in relief. "I know of one. I'm just happy you didn't turn me down cold. I did leave you that option. I'm not exactly in the best health at this point."

"You'll recover," she said, sitting up and looking into his face. Her eyes glowed brilliantly in the darkness. "Niki said, back when I first found you, that I might as well marry you, because I'd be taking care of you for years. And he was so right."

Ferral grinned at Niki, who looked bashful.

"Well," Ferral said, "I wanted to add that this relationship isn't one way. I'm going to take care of you, too, Leth. You never complain, even when you're working yourself to death. I'll make sure you rest. And ... I'll do my best to make you happy."

Her glowing eyes illuminated her sudden tears. She bit her lip and looked down. "This," she choked. "This is why I have to marry you. You're so kind to me, even when I treated you like scum. I'll be making it up to you the rest of my life."

He drew her close and kissed her cheek. Her words touched that unhealed wound inside him - the Dasa part, where he was snubbed and disrespected by the remnants of his family.

"Nobody ever wanted me before," he murmured. "I've been reading my father and brothers' documents. I was the oldest son, but ... somehow, I was a disappointment. When I ran off to work under the Prince, they were glad to see me go. Now I'm a Guardian, they wanted me even less. And ... they're gone. The only reason Delsaran brought me here was for legal reasons. Nobody values me as a person. I'm just a thing. A tool. Or a weapon. You and Banner are the only ones who care."

Lethia stroked his cheek, her eyes teary, yet burning like the Light, itself. "Ferral. You and Niki have the same problem. You want to be wanted."

Niki glanced at them self-consciously.

"Maybe he's right," Ferral murmured. "He just wants to be loved. Look how much love he's given you in return."

"I've had to learn how to return love," Lethia said, stroking Niki with a fingertip. "It's not easy."

They sat in silence for a while, watching the clouds drift across the stars.

Lethia said, "I was thinking. You know, I followed the Dasa gossip for years. Crushing on the Dasa boys was part of Reefedge culture. Do you know why they didn't like you?"

He hadn't expected her to know anything about him. A little dread shivered through him.

"Because," she went on, "you told them the truth: that they were a bunch of greedy assholes who were strangling the Reef's development. I wasn't sure if that was you, or another son, back then. But as far as I can figure out, only one son was estranged and left the clan. And that was you."

Ferral gazed at the stone beneath them. Even in his past life, he had tried to do the right thing. And it had bitten him in the butt then, too.

"Ban," he said to his ghost, "did you know that when you resurrected me?"

"No," Banner replied. "But I saw your spark, all full of kindness and humor. And you've been the best Guardian a ghost could ever want. I don't need to know your past to understand that you're a good man."

Ferral didn't know how to reply to that. Instead, he patted Banner's shell, and hugged Lethia against his side.

"You'll have a new family from now on," Lethia told him. "One that values you for you."

He kissed her forehead. "And you're the cornerstone of that family, Leth."

They sat there a little longer, holding each other, basking in the glow of mutual happiness and contentment. A deep relief pervaded Ferral's being. He'd had the fear, however small, that Lethia might break their engagement. As her letters had arrived, he'd hesitated before opening each one, nervous that this might be the last. Even now, he could hardly believe that she really did love him.

For the first time in either of his lives, someone beside his ghost valued him as a person. He still barely believed it. But it had awoken in him a deep desire to care for this woman, cherish her, and protect her. Sitting there with his arm around her, Ferral felt a fierceness inside him he'd never noticed before. If she valued him, he prized her. Nothing in the universe was more precious to him than Lethia, except maybe Banner.

After a while, they picked their way down the hill in the dark, their ghosts lighting the way, and walked back to the compound.

The two Fallen guards had shadowed them the whole way, and accompanied them in the walk in.

"This is Yarniks and Creviks," Lethia told Ferral. "We talked earlier."

Ferral glanced at the aliens, then at Lethia, trying to hide his surprise. "You did?"

"I speak Eliksni," she said.

This simple statement flabbergasted Ferral. A Guardian who spoke Eliksni? He couldn't grasp it. "How?" he stammered.

"There were a lot of little ones around when I was a kid," Lethia said, as if this was commonplace. "We all played together, and we didn't think it was weird until years later. I don't know if I could ever fight Eliksni from the House of Wolves. Too many good memories."

She was aware of the guards signing to each other behind them. She glanced back and caught the words, "... Reefedge, this is truth."

She smiled and pretended to ignore them.

Ferral gave her a look of respect. "You keep finding new ways to be amazing."

Lethia squeezed his hand in response, beaming.

* * *

Awoken marriage customs were simple and logical. The couple registered with their local territory overseer. He walked them through the covenant oath they swore to each other. Then they signed a legal contract that they would remain exclusive and loyal to each other until death freed one or both of them.

As they left the law building, Ferral remarked, "I never knew it was that easy to get married."

"Neither did I," Lethia laughed. "Since we're Guardians, we'll be together a long time. I wonder what the record is?"

"The Traveler's been around for seven hundred years," Ferral pointed out. "So somewhere around there."

Lethia held his hand as they walked back to where they had left their sparrows, at the foot of a little rocky hill. Happiness swirled through her, and a little nervousness at how quickly her life had changed. Niki's spark purred to hers from phase, joyful and contented. Of all things - she had married one of the dreamy Dasa boys. Her friends were all dead or Taken, and she had nobody to brag to. It was a lonely feeling.

On the other hand, she had Ferral, now. She could kiss him freely and sleep with him without guilt. She'd help him with business, see the Reef rebuilt, and maybe ... maybe even have children of their own, assuming Guardians could reproduce. Her cheeks grew warm at the thought.

"Race you home," Ferral said, mounting his sparrow.

"You're on," Lethia laughed, climbing aboard her own. "My sparrow has better acceleration and - "

A rifle cracked from the trees uphill.

A bullet hit Lethia in the side, under the arm. The impact jolted her sideways. Pain exploded through her. The air left her lungs in a sharp cry.

She fell off her sparrow and hit the ground. What was happening? Who had shot her? Then the pain submerged all thought.

The Eliksni bodyguards sprang out of their semi-concealed positions behind a tree and bounded uphill on all fours, running with animal swiftness.

Then Ferral was there, kneeling over her, his face drawn in panic. "Lethia! It was that same weapon! Niki, get her up!"

Lethia wanted to reply that she'd had worse, that being shot was normal for Guardians. But the nightmare pain went on and on. The breath rattled in her chest. Blackness encroached at the corners of her vision. Niki's healing Light swept her again and again, but it barely touched the wound.

Banner appeared beside Ferral and added his Light to Niki's.

"Pull the projectile out," Niki exclaimed. "It's blocking our Light."

Lethia looked down. Amid the bloody remains of her shirt, a black spike protruded from her side. Ferral grasped it and pulled it out. Six inches of it emerged, gleaming black, like a vicious thorn.

At once, the ghosts healed her, mending the damaged bones and organs. Lethia sat up, drawing deep breaths into her repaired lungs. "I'm up," she gasped to Ferral. "I'm all right. I'm up."

He rose to his feet, teeth bared. "Banner, transmat my rifle."

The weapon appeared in his hands in a shimmer of Light.

"You're not wearing any armor," Lethia panted.

Ferral's attention was focused on the trees up the hill, teeth clenched. "That won't matter in a minute."

"Niki," Lethia thought. "My auto rifle, please."

As Ferral charged up the hill, Lethia received her rifle and followed him.

"Guardian," Niki said in her head. "I feel ... really strange."

Lethia did, too. The hill was so steep, she had trouble bending her knees properly. Her rifle grew heavier and heavier. She slowed to a walk, still gasping for breath. Her Void Light felt so small and weak inside her. She grasped at it, trying to build it back up. She should be furious, blazing with Light, ready to kill her attacker.

Instead, she felt cold, sad, slow. The wound was gone, but the same poison that had sickened Ferral now crawled through her.

"Niki," she thought, "is it Darkness?"

"I think it is," he replied. "It's making me ... so sleepy ..."

Lethia's feet stumbled to a halt. She simply sat on the hillside, using her rifle as a crutch, struggling against the growing sad cloud that was overshadowing her Light.

Gunshots rang out in the trees above her. Two, three, five reports. Then silence.

A moment later, footsteps crunched in the grass behind her. "He escaped," Ferral said. He sat down beside her, teeth clenched, his yellow eyes burning like a cat's. "The bastard had a vehicle. He was gone before we got there."

"What did the Eliksni find out?" Lethia forced herself to say. Forming words was tiring.

Ferral frowned. "They missed, too."

"They track by feel," Lethia said. "I asked them to identify the attacker if they came around. I guess it doesn't matter, now."

He took her hand and studied her face. "It's the same, isn't it? The depression. And you know it's not you."

Lethia knew what he meant. The sadness was not hers. She was glad Ferral was unhurt, and, somewhere, furious about being shot on her wedding day. But the sadness came from elsewhere and sat on her emotions like a blanket. She hated it.

Suddenly, Ferral said, "What's it doing to your ghost?"

She hadn't noticed Niki floating at her shoulder. He gradually dipped lower and lower until he dropped into the grass beside her, his eye full of static. She picked him up. "Niki?"

"Sleepy," he said, his voice heavily modulated.

Ferral groaned. "You're both Void-locked. You're operating on a third of the Light that I have." He cursed under his breath, running his hands through his hair. "What do I do, what do I do? You're the healer, Lethia! I'm a Hunter, I can't heal anybody. That's warlock stuff."

"I want to go home," Lethia said. It was an effort to even think it.

Ferral helped her down the hill. She didn't need his help, not physically. Her arms and legs worked fine. She mounted her sparrow and rode it back to the compound, traveling at a subdued pace that matched the sadness inside her.

All the while, the logical side of her brain chewed on the problem. Logic didn't care whether she was happy or sad. Logic despised the depression with cold hatred. Whatever that black spike had been, it had poisoned her Light. Maybe it would have let the Darkness Take her, had she been a plain Awoken. But as a Guardian, it couldn't quite strangle her the way it wanted.

But she was also Void-locked, and that was a problem. She and Niki were vulnerable to the Darkness, especially Niki. She had fed him Arc Light back on Earth, so theoretically, he should be capable of using it. But neither of them had ever touched Solar, the final Light branch.

Ferral used Void Light, too. How could she get enough Solar to save her ghost and herself?


	21. Clan Dasa

They locked themselves in Ferral's chambers in the compound. He guided her to the sofa and sat beside her, anxiously stroking her hands. Niki lay in her lap, nearly comatose.

"Lethia," Ferral said softly, "you have an instinct for healing. You sensed how to revive the ghosts. And you knew what to do for me. What do _you_ need, right now?"

"Solar Light," she said, forcing the words out. "It's the one branch we've never encountered."

"Solar," Ferral muttered, looking around the room as if he might find some in a corner. He summoned Banner. "Can we use Solar Light?"

"Yes, of course," Banner replied. "But neither of us are any good at it."

Ferral held out a hand and concentrated. A flicker of orange fire appeared in his palm, slowly resolving into a fiery knife. Then it collapsed into wispy flames. He growled and tried again, this time trying to summon a gun made of fire. It swirled into his hand, flames licking up his arm without burning him. Then it fizzled and went out.

"This is like trying to write left-handed," Ferral said. "I don't know this kind of Light." He turned to her. "Here. Take it."

Lethia lifted a hand toward him, then hesitated and pulled it back. A hideous memory flashed through her mind - of tearing the Light out of a Cabal legionnaire, watching the huge alien slump dead at her feet.

"I can't take your Light," she whispered. "I might kill you."

Ferral shrugged. "So what? I'm a Guardian. Banner will have me up in a few seconds."

"But ... Ferral ... what if I drain him as well as you? I've never tried this on a Guardian before."

They both gave Banner a worried look.

The ghost glanced from Lethia, to Ferral, and back. "Can't you control how much you take?"

Lethia shook her head. "I either drain Light or I don't. On or off. The only way I can moderate it is to control how long I'm in contact with someone." The sadness was making her cry, and she hated it. She didn't want to cry right now.

* * *

Ferral understood the reason for her tears, but it didn't make them any easier to bear. He sat beside her, head bowed, trying to grasp Solar Light. It felt completely different from Void. All he could describe it as was like switching from knives to hand axes. The technique was completely different.

At the same time, his own depression came stealing back. What was the point of even trying? He'd never cure her. Healing wasn't one of his powers. He knew the wilderness, and fixing machines, and tinkering with weapons. Even his Light manifested as knives.

The Darkness spread itself through him, feeding on his despair. It presented him with a memory of the Dreadnaught. Ferral gazed into it without flinching. He had worked to desensitize himself to the horror of it. Now he studied the memory grimly - of watching his fire team die one at a time, stripped of Light and life.

Lethia was in danger of that. Operating on less Light than she should, the dark thing infecting her would eventually gain the upper hand. She would die slowly - much more slowly than the team on the Dreadnaught.

Ferral pushed back the weighty sadness that threatened to stifle him. He'd seen the Darkness at work on Guardians. His memory empowered him to face it, now. Again that fierce love arose inside him. She was his, now, and he was going to fight for her, even if it cost him every last flicker of his Light.

"Lethia," he said, turning to her, "you don't have to take my Light. I'm going to give it to you."

Her blue-green eyes lifted to his face. She looked so frightened, so lost, the miserable tears on her cheeks. It was the way she'd looked when he pulled her out from under piles of dead aliens in the Martian desert, when he'd begun to lose his heart to her. He wiped away her tears with the back of one hand.

"How?" she whispered. "I don't want to hurt you."

Ferral turned to his ghost. "Banner, I'm going to draw on Solar Light again. You've got to shut it off before it kills either of us, all right?"

Banner understood his intent. He blinked at Ferral, then Lethia, then at the motionless Niki. "I'll try."

Ferral gently pulled her into his arms. "I'm going to kiss you," he whispered. "And I'll give you Light."

She smiled. "I did just marry you." She lifted her lips to his.

Ferral kissed her, softly, tenderly, caressing her sensitive lips with his own. And he called on his Light again. Flames licked over his body, across his face, through their embrace, and into Lethia. He held it in check, keeping it from its full destructive power. Instead of a fiery burn, it enfolded her with warmth.

She raised a hand to stroke his cheek, her palm cool against the fire. Then her hand dropped to Niki, flame trailing from her fingertips, instilling him with it. She relaxed in his arms, drawing in his Light, as a Voidwalker did.

Ferral kissed her for second upon eternal second, stroking her hair, trying to keep his Light under control. It wanted to blaze out of him, unfocused, a bonfire like the surface of the sun. His super powers didn't usually last this long. Still, he kept the Light burning through him, letting it flow into this woman he loved so much. _All my Light is yours,_ he thought. _Take it all._

* * *

Lethia had wanted to kiss Ferral properly for so long. He was every bit as satisfying as she had dreamed, his lips soft and sensual against her own. His Light soaked into her, heat with a razor edge of danger. If his focus shifted too much, he would incinerate her. Her Void power pulled it in, more and more with each kiss. He was so powerful, she could draw in his Light until she caught fire and it still wouldn't drain him entirely.

She passed the Solar Light to Niki, but the ghost didn't awaken. Too much Darkness remained in them both. It swirled and slithered inside her, hiding in the shadows of her being, resisting the Light. She felt for it, trying to force it out, but she had no leverage against it when it was inside her. The most she could do was push it from place to place.

"I can't get rid of it," she whispered, pulling away from her husband and staring down at her ghost. "The Darkness. The Light isn't enough." The tears threatened to return. The alien sadness crippled her, choking away her happiness.

"Leth," Ferral whispered, leaning his forehead against hers. "Could you give me your Darkness?"

She searched his golden eyes, fear joining the sadness. "Give it to you? I ... I might be able to. But it'll kill your Light!"

"Using this much Solar is killing my Darkness," he said, smiling. "It's burning it away, inch by inch. I think, if I could just summon more Light, it would purge it completely. But you're still Void-locked. So ... maybe I can burn the Darkness for you."

She gathered the dismal, foreign sadness in her mind. The borrowed Light let her roll the Darkness into a sphere, the way she built her Void bombs. "But more Darkness will make you worse."

"I'm burning it," he whispered.

Burning it! Was it possible to burn the Darkness, itself? Maybe there was more power in the Light than she had ever dreamed. She kissed him again and pushed that rolled-up Darkness into him.

* * *

Ferral felt her Darkness pour into him. He reeled backward, breaking the connection. He slipped off the couch and stood there, eyes closed. This new depression combined with his own to form a heavy, smothering fog that pressed the Light, itself, out of his heart.

But he had taken this for her. His love for her was as powerful as the Light.

"Banner," he panted, "can you do one more super?"

His ghost floated nearby, his eye burning orange with the effort of maintaining unfamiliar Solar Light. Smoke curled from his shell.

"Once more," Banner said.

Ferral struggled through the fog and found the fire. And the lightning. And the void. And pulled all of them into himself at once. The full strength of Light converged on him, scorching through the Darkness. But it was too much for his body to withstand-it would tear him apart, too.

* * *

Lethia sensed what Ferral was about to do. She leaped off the sofa, wrapped her arms around him, and flung out her Void Light like a safety net.

When the full force of all three Light aspects blasted through Ferral, Lethia deflected part of it into herself, grounding it like a lightning rod. There was a blinding white flash. Pain washed through her in a spinning, sideways fashion, hers and yet not hers. She glimpsed the hearts of stars, and cradle of Light, itself. Then they were falling, crashing through space, like a faltering ship into the surface of Mars.

She awoke on the floor. Ferral lay on top of her, unconscious, immobile. Her arms were still locked around him. Their ghosts flew to and fro above them, sweeping them with healing beams.

"Well," Niki said, "this is awkward."

His purple eye had turned a bright, sky blue.

"They _are_ married, now," Banner pointed out. His shell was scorched around the edges, but he didn't seem worried. "I suppose we'll have to get used to this behavior."

"Is he all right?" Lethia asked, stroking Ferral's hair. His head rested on her shoulder, eyes closed. If the floor hadn't been so hard, it would have been quite comfortable.

"He vanquished the Darkness for both of you," Banner said. "He's unhurt, but very tired. And he's sleeping where he's wanted to be for months."

"Maybe we shouldn't watch," Niki said. "I'm afraid I'm about to be very embarrassed."

"Niki!" Lethia exclaimed. "Nothing's happening. Are you better now?"

"I'm not Void-locked!" he exclaimed, spinning his yellow shell segments cheerfully. "That was one spectacular kiss."

Lethia's face grew warm, thinking about it. She turned her head and pressed her lips to Ferral's cheek. "This is cozy," she whispered to him, "but you're heavy." She slid him to the floor and crawled to her feet.

The blanket of depression was gone. In its place was a buoyant happiness, a glow of contentment, that had been there all along. Light fizzed inside her - Void, Arc, and Solar, crackling and blazing, waiting for her to call on any of it.

"You're well," she whispered to Niki.

He flew up and shyly touched her face with his shell. "You healed me. And so did Ferral, by sharing his Light with us. You don't have to be only a Voidwalker, if you don't want to."

She stroked him. "I'm just glad you're not ruined forever." The world seemed so much brighter, so full of potential.

She knelt over Ferral and stroked his face. "Wake up, hero. You can't sleep on the floor all day."

He stirred and opened his eyes. For a long moment he simply smiled up at her as his wits returned.

She kissed him lightly. "You killed the Darkness."

He blinked, his smile vanishing into a wondering look. "I think ... I think I did." He sat up, rubbing his head. "I don't feel it at all anymore." He turned to her and caught her hand. "And you? Are you better?"

"Completely." She gestured to her ghost. "And Niki isn't Void-Locked anymore, either."

Ferral scrambled to his feet. "That's wonderful! I was so afraid I was going to kill us all, doing that. And ... Leth ..." He caught her in a hug and kissed her, frantically. "I was so afraid I'd lose you," he whispered. "Before I'd even had a chance to love you."

"I was so far gone," she whispered. "But now - " She slipped her arms around his neck and pulled him toward the bed.

Ferral snapped his fingers at the ghosts and pointed at the door. They obediently flew out into the office space, and Ferral shut the door.

"Thank the Traveler," Niki said. "I didn't want to see that."

"Me neither," Banner agreed. "I mean, I'm happy that they're happy. But I don't need to watch."

Niki opened and closed his shell a few times. "I have full contact with the Light again! I'd gotten so used to only Void. It feels like I'm burning." He glanced toward the door, then drooped a little. "Do ... do you think Lethia will still love me? She has Ferral, now."

"She'll always love you," Banner reassured him. "A Guardian's relationship with their ghost is a deep friendship that nothing can touch. When you've had your Guardian as long as I've had mine, you'll understand."

"Thanks," Niki whispered.

* * *

The two Guardians stayed in their rooms for the next several days, emerging only for meals. Delsaran rolled his eyes and kept on with preparations for selling the various businesses. He hadn't thought Guardians had enough humanity left in them to marry, but those two were certainly annoying enough.

When their honeymoon week was over, Ferral emerged and returned to work, rested and cheerful. Lethia prowled the compound and grounds, looking for any sign of the person who kept shooting at them.

Life was quiet for several weeks. Ferral met with various business owners and closed negotiations, selling off the first of the nineteen businesses. Lethia sent messages to the Vanguard, explaining about their desire to establish a Vanguard base in the Reef. This began a long period of deliberation and arguments between Lethia and Ikora.

The Reef still despised Guardians, and the Vanguard had no official interest there. Lethia had to go between the Reefedge leadership and the Vanguard multiple times before a mutual agreement was reached. The Dasa compound would open to Guardians as a base of operations. The remaining businesses in Reefedge would cater to their needs, and new glimmer would flow into their economy. In return, the Reef would tolerate the Guardians and their noisy ships. Lethia and Ferral received their orders to remain permanently stationed there.

Then, one evening a month later, the two Eliksni bodyguards caught the sniper.

Ferral and Lethia were having dinner on their second story balcony. "Uh oh," Ferral remarked, gazing over the railing. "Looks like my bodyguards did their job."

Lethia looked. The two aliens dragged a human figure between them, their fourth arms holding guns to his head. The figure wore a long robe, but that was all they could see of him.

"Looks like we get to settle this now," Ferral said. He and Lethia hurried downstairs to meet the guards.

The aliens dragged their prisoner into the entry and threw him on the floor. "Here is the filth who attacked you," one Eliksni hissed. "Say the word and we'll kill him."

"Let me speak to him, first," Ferral said, stepping forward. "Who are you?"

The figure slowly climbed to his feet and pushed back his hood. He was an Awoken with storm-blue skin. The Light that swirled under his skin crawled with too much Darkness.

"Guardian," he said, then spat on the floor. "Dead servant of a dead god. You don't deserve to be called a Dasa."

Ferral stood very still, teeth clenched. He was so tired of being insulted over this. He took enough of it from his employees.

Lethia sensed this and slowly drew her sidearm. "He asked you a question."

"I do not fear death," the man proclaimed. "I serve the Ascendant Hand. We have the means to destroy your Light. We will never stop trying until both of you are permanently dead."

"I thought so," Ferral muttered. "You can drop the high-minded blather. This is about the money and power you're not going to get, isn't it?"

The man smiled. "You have such a small mind, Guardian. You are the last Dasa. You serve the wrong side."

"Right," Ferral said, refusing to be intimidated. "Who are you working for?"

The man laughed - a high, crazy laugh. The bodyguards tensed, raising their weapons.

"I serve Lord Dasa!" the man exclaimed. "True leader of the clan! Sympathetic to the Hand! Generous leader of underground movements!"

"My father had nothing to do with you," Ferral snarled. "I read it in his records. And he's dead."

"Not dead!" giggled the captive. " _Taken_!"

A wave of energy rippled through the room, making reality bend sideways. A black portal peeled open in the nearest wall. Out of it emerged a swarm of Taken Awoken - staggering, wobbling black shapes, their outlines burning white where they touched the third dimension.

Their leader was twice the height of the rest, simply because it wanted to be. Under the burning whiteness on its forehead, the man's face bore a remarkable likeness to Ferral's.

"Failure," the being hissed. "Outcast. You don't deserve to be raised as a Guardian."

Ferral and Lethia hastily summoned their rifles. But Lethia's hands shook as she worked the safety. The bodyguards sprang to either side of the Guardians, weapons raised, aiming at first one demon, then the next.

The Taken spread out in a line, but didn't attack. It was the whole Dasa clan, men and women, all bearing a family resemblance to Ferral. All reduced to black, consumed versions of themselves. Ferral recognized several of them. He had seen them before Oryx's attack - and they had despised him for being a Guardian then, too. Now, it was as if being Taken had only revealed their true selves.

The captured sniper bowed to the floor before the being that had been Lord Dasa. "Lord! You honor me with your presence!"

Lord Dasa ignored him. His attention was fixed on his last remaining son, and the Light that blazed within him.

"You have sworn alliance to the losing side, Kymil Elvaris. You always did disappoint me. The Light shall never avail against the Darkness. You know this in your heart, as an Awoken."

Ferral stared at his father in sick fascination, like a mouse entranced by the swaying of a cobra. This was the father he didn't remember - or something that looked like him. "Is this you saying this, or your masters?"

The being hissed at him. The other Taken made strangled screeching sounds. It was not speech - more an expression of barely restrained hatred.

Ferral said, "You may have thrown me out. But the Traveler values me enough to make me a Guardian. Lethia values me as a person. That means more to me than anything you corrupt monsters can imagine."

"You deluded fool," Lord Dasa purred. "The Traveler does not impart value. It merely teaches you satisfaction in doing its bidding. We Awoken turned our backs on the Traveler centuries ago. All of my clan knows this." He spread his arms, indicating the Taken around him. "And you, my eldest son. You were the only one who defied me. You accused me of wrongdoing and unethical business practices. I've never forgiven you for that."

"I noticed," Ferral muttered.

Lord Dasa pointed at him. "Instead, you went off with the Prince's Crows and got yourself killed. We mourned you, Kymil. If only you had returned and made up before it was too late."

Ferral tried not to feel sorry about this. _It's not really your father. It's a Taken monster with his memory._

Lord Dasa smiled - a ghastly expression with black teeth and white lips. "But if you want ... I can extend my forgiveness now. We can be reconciled at last. If you _want_."

Ferral hesitated, sensing a trap. The Taken watched him, tense, quiet, awaiting his answer. The sniper rose to his feet and stood watching the Guardians. The universe seemed to listen for his answer.

What did he want? Ferral looked at Lethia beside him, and the Eliksni guards standing shoulder to shoulder with them. Lethia's rifle shook in her hands, but still she faced the enemy, holding her fear in check.

She was the only thing he had ever truly longed for. And she had granted him a myriad other things he had wanted - acceptance, and love, and companionship. With Lethia at his side, he was satisfied. He didn't need to try to make up with this clan of demons.

He looked Lord Dasa in the eye. "I want nothing."

The Taken clan screeched and shifted, their hands clawing the air, wishing to tear him apart. And beyond that, a malevolent presence grew angry. They didn't want him satisfied - they wanted him hungry.

In place of that, they wanted him dead.

"You refuse?" Lord Dasa said incredulously. "You refuse to confess your crime? Refuse to set things right between us at the eleventh hour? And you call yourself a Lightbearer."

This stung. Ferral drew a deep breath, keeping himself under control. "I don't make deals with Taken."

"We will quench your Light," Lord Dasa snarled. "And we will drag you screaming into the Darkness."

The Taken sprang at them, their screams filling the air. Ferral, Lethia, and the Eliksni opened fire. Lord Dasa charged at Ferral. One hand raked down Ferral's shoulder and across his chest, tearing through his shirt and flesh. Lord Dasa received the contents of half a rifle magazine for his trouble. The bullets shredded his shadowy flesh and sent him shrieking back to the abyss.

Lethia screamed, too, her voice drowned out by their enemies. She blasted Taken until her rifle was empty. Then she crouched on the floor and covered her head, forgetting she was a Guardian, forgetting she had more ammo, forgetting everything except her paralyzing fear of the Taken. "Make it stop! Make it stop!"

Ferral and the Eliksni closed ranks to protect her. Hundreds more Taken were crawling out of that portal. The air reeked of ozone and hot metal. Ferral faced them as a Guardian, and also as a man defending his wife. Already his ghost was healing the slash across his shoulder. The Light within him blazed in righteous anger.

"You two, duck!" he told the Eliksni guards. They crouched at once.

Ferral summoned his super power and flung handfuls of shadow knives into the attacking enemies, felling rows of them like cut grass. The blades whistled over the heads of his team. He'd learned his lesson by hitting Niki, and kept his focus firmly on the enemy.

Then he lobbed a grenade into the portal, itself.

The explosion rattled the walls. The portal slurped closed. The few remaining Taken swirled and vanished into nothing. Silence fell.

The only sign of a battle was the sniper, now lying dead on the floor, shot through the heart. One outstretched hand gripped a dagger with a jagged blade of black metal.

Yarniks pointed at him. "He drew a weapon of Darkness. More deadly than Taken. I killed him." The alien stalked forward and plucked the blade from the dead hand. "Corrupt. This will sicken a Guardian. I'll dispose of it." He strode out the front door, carrying the dagger in the ends of two fingers.

Ferral knelt and put his arms around Lethia, who clung to him. They sat there in silence, Creviks standing over them with his rifle, waiting.

After a while, Yarniks returned, empty handed. "Such foulness should not be allowed to exist."

Ferral rose to his feet and bowed to the alien. "You have my gratitude."

Both Eliksni stared at him, nonplussed. Then they gestured rapidly to each other. A good deal more friendly, Yarniks said, "Does the female need help?"

Lethia rose to her feet, clinging to Ferral's hand. "I'm all right, thank you," she told them shakily. "I didn't expect to see ... the whole clan."

"Those were no longer the clan Dasa," Creviks said. "They only looked like them."

The Guardians climbed the stairs back to their rooms, the guards escorting them. They took up posts outside the doors as Ferral helped Lethia inside.

Once the doors were shut, Lethia burst into tears. Ferral sat and held her, letting her cry into his torn shirt, feeling her tremble as he had trembled back at the shack in the forest during flashbacks.

"I was afraid you'd listen to them," she whispered. "It was so dark. I couldn't feel the Light anymore. It was waiting to snatch you, the way it did them."

"But I'm content," he whispered, nuzzling her hair. "I have everything I could ever ask for, right here in my arms."

She hid her face in his neck and sat there, no longer crying, just holding him and breathing. He rocked her a little, stroking her hair.

"I don't want anything, either," she whispered. "Only you. But they didn't ask me. They wanted you. They were ... they were _hungry_ for you."

"The wanting," Ferral said. "That's where the Darkness feeds. I guess we'll have to be careful of that." After a moment, he added tenderly, "What do you want, sweetheart?"

"I want to see you grow well and strong again," she whispered. "I want to share every day with you. And ... if it's possible ... I'd like to bear your children."

He grinned and kissed her cheek. "It's tricky for Guardians to carry to term, but you're strong. I'm sure you'll manage." He didn't add that her answer satisfied and thrilled him at once.

"What you mean is," he said, "you want us to build our own legacy."

"Yes," Lethia said. "I want us to have a good future. And for that, we need a clan of our own. One that serves the Light and fears no Taken." She kissed him, slowly, lovingly.

He smiled. "I'd like to try."

The end


End file.
